Sunrise
by sleep on stars
Summary: Sequel to Tonight: The night fell a long time ago; ending memories of school year's past. Now it's time for the sun to rise and new memories to be made. xx Niley
1. All I Want To Do

_Let's just lay here and be lazy, baby drive me crazy  
All I want to do...  
All I want to do... is love you_

"CANNON BALL!" Joe exclaimed, while running to the ledge of the pool and jumping into the cool water. As he hit the liquid, it splashed up; hitting Miley, Nick and Lily. "JOE!" they all screamed in unison. Joe bobbed up and down in the water, smiling innocently. "Burgers are almost ready guys!" Mr. Jonas notified them from over by the grill.

They were already into their first week of summer and living it up. Taylor was currently in New York City, promoting her new CD and Selena was taping the 2nd season of Wizards. Aly and AJ were recording their new CD in the recording studio set up in their house and Hannah and the Jonas Brothers were scheduled to do a one month tour later on in August; it was going to be a busy summer. Oliver and Lily were planning on accompanying them, but Heather was a little unsure about her decision; letting her only daughter be alone on a tour bus with her boyfriend for a month? Uh yeah, no.

"Hey Mr. J, what are you wearing?" Lily asked as she slid onto the bench and placed her burger on the picnic table. "Oh, what? You don't like my 'Kiss the Cook' apron?" he smiled.

The four kids looked around at each other, awkwardly. "Funny, Mrs. Jonas said the same thing…" he muttered to himself before walking back to the grill to flip some more burgers. The group burst out into laughter, poor Mr. Jonas.

"So, what are we doing for the next month?" Joe asked the group while biting into his burger, causing the ketchup to squirt out in between the bun and onto his fingers. Lily looked at him disgustingly and handed him a napkin; he accepted it graciously. "Water Park?" Miley suggested. "Na" Nick sighed, "We did that 5 times last summer and Joe almost drowned in the wave pool from getting mobbed by tons of love struck teenage girls"

Joe shuddered at the memory, "I will never look at that wave pool the same way…"

Lily rubbed his back, soothingly. "Hey how about we go tease Jackson at Rico's later?" she suggested. Miley shook her head, while reaching over to get a handful of chips out of the bag, "He's visiting my Mama in Tennessee for the rest of the month, saying that it will be easier to get chicks down there" she rolled her eyes.

"Well then, what are we going to do?" Nick asked the group. Miley pondered her thoughts for a moment, what could they do that they hadn't done before?

"Hey!" Miley exclaimed, an idea popping into her head. The three of them looked up at her, curious. "My Aunt Dolly has a beach house in Montauk, New York. Why don't we see if she'll let us stay there for a week?"

"That sounds great!" Lily smiled, "But, I really don't want to be stuck in a car with my Mom for 4 days and have to listen to her complain about how every guy on this planet is a pig" Lily sighed. "Who said your Mom was coming?" Miley arched her left eyebrow. "Ah, I see where you're going with this…" Nick smiled.

"You think the 'rents would really go for something like this?" Joe asked.

"It's worth a shot" Miley shrugged her shoulders, "Ok, so here's the plan: get ready to beg, plead and possibly get down on your knees"

"What else do you want me to do? Buy them chocolate?" Joe complained.

"If push comes to show, yes" Miley giggled.

* * *

"And Aunt Dolly would check in on us during the middle of the week, you know to see if everything is ok" Miley informed the parents who were all gathered in the Stewart's living room.

"Plus, Kevin can drive; he'd be the one in the front seat at all times, except for when he got tired, that's when I'd take over" Aly continued.

"So, we'd have a responsible driver, a semi-guardian and a safe, secluded place to stay" Nick confirmed. Mr. and Mrs. Jonas looked over at Billy Ray who looked over at Heather who looked over at Mercedes Gomez, Selena's mom, and they all shot each other pained looks. Mrs. Michalka lifted herself up off the couch and sighed, "So it sounds like you all have this planned out" she sighed. "Yes Ma'am" Kevin stated. "I don't see why not…" Billy Ray added. "So that's a yes?" Selena asked timidly. "Yes" Heather and Mrs. Jonas confirmed.

"WE'RE GOING TO MONTAUK BABY!" Joe exclaimed, lifting Lily up in the air and spinning her around.

* * *

**Just simply a preview of what's to come. I know it was short, but I just wanted to get it out there as soon as I could! Are you excited!? Cause I know I sure am!! Review please! Think it's gonna be any good?  
****  
xxEmilyKearsexx**


	2. On the Road Again

_And our way  
is on the road again.  
Just can't wait to get on the road again.  
The life I love is makin' music with my friends_

"Remind me again why we decided to take a car?" Selena groaned. They had only been driving for 3 hours and they were already restless. "Because air fair was too expensive" Kevin answered his girlfriend. He loved calling her that. "Hello!" Lily exclaimed, sarcastically, "You're all freaking rich!"

Joe rolled his eyes, "Think of it this way Lils. About 6 of Disney's most famous performers all drive up to the LAX airport _together _and get on the same flight. How do you think that's going to turn out?"

"Did he just say something that actually made sense?" Miley whispered to Nick who was sitting next to her in the backseat. Nick looked over at Joe, surprised, "I think so!"

They had rented a van to take across the country in their little road trip. Kevin sat up front, driving the vehicle with Aly sitting next to him; ready to take the wheel whenever he was tired. Behind them; Selena sat in between Joe and Lily. While Oliver and AJ sat behind them and Nick and Miley sitting all the way in the back.

"Hey Kev!" Miley called from the back of the van. "Yeah!?" he shouted over the music, blasting from the radio. "Can we stop of McDonald's soon?"

Aly unbuckled herself and turned around in her seat, "Miles, there is practically a whole pantry of food in the trunk! Just get some from there!"

"But, that's not the same…" she frowned.

"It's true" Selena agreed, "Nothing can beat McDonald's"

"I SECOND THAT!" Joe shouted, raising his hand in the air like he was a little 1st grader, begging to use the bathroom.

"McDonald's it is" Kevin rolled his eyes.

* * *

It was starting to get dark now. They had stopped at McDonald's hours ago and were now becoming drowsy as twilight occurred. "Joe" Selena's eyes widened, "Those are _not_ Lily's feet you're trying to play footsy with"

"Oops, sorry" he blushed while Lily just giggled. "Shut up!" Oliver shouted, "I can't hear the movie!" he grabbed the small remote and turned up the volume to movie playing: Walk the Line.

"You're so cute when you get bossy" AJ giggled. They weren't officially a couple, they weren't even dating; they were just at the stage where they went _way_ overboard with the flirting.

The group groaned at their gushiness, "What?" she asked innocently.

"Joe" Selena's eye began to twitch with frustration, "that's not Lily's ass either"

Joe turned a deep shade of red, "My bad"

"You know what? I'm switching seats!" she exclaimed, while trying to climb over Lily's legs. "Miley! Got any room back there?" Miley looked up from Nick's lap where she had been resting her head, "Uh, yeah. Sure, I guess"

Selena climbed over Oliver's seat who ended up getting pushed on the ground, "That was unnecessary!" he glared at her as he rubbed his back. "Oh no Oliver…" Selena shook her head as she took a seat on the end, next to Miley, "it was necessary" she smirked.

"This is supposed to be fun!" Aly smiled from the front of the seat, "SO SHUT UP!" her voice was strong and sharp as she glared at all the younger teenagers in the back.

There was an awkward silence, but Joe being Joe broke it. "Who's in the mood to sing a song?" he beamed.

"It's like 8 PM bro. Can't it wait till morning?" Nick sighed.

Joe shook his head, "This will bring out spirits back up!" He cleared his throat, before opening his mouth and letting his vocals slip out.

_When I find myself in times of trouble  
Mother Mary comes to me  
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be._

_And in my hour of darkness  
She is standing right in front of me  
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be._

_Let it be, let it be._

_Whisper words of wisdom, let it be._

Joe looked around the van and smiled. It was the group's song, at least the old group's song. They had been singing it from the beginning. When they were stuck on a song idea or just having trouble with friends or family, they would think of it and instantly become inspired.

Miley took over next, her face glowing from the happiness she was feeling at that exact moment.

_And when the broken hearted people  
Living in the world agree,  
There will be an answer, let it be._

Nick smiled at his girlfriend and ripped his vocals out, with that dreamy voice of his.

_For though they may be parted there is  
Still a chance that they will see  
There will be an answer, let it be._

Kevin smiled in the rearview mirror and the whole van broke out into song.

_Let it be, let it be. yeah  
There will be an answer, let it be._

AJ raised her arms in the air and motioned that it was her turn;

_And when the night is cloudy,  
There is still a light that shines on me,  
Shine on until tomorrow, let it be._

Selena looked around the van and giggled, this was all so new to her and yet she felt as if she had been with them from the start. They made her feel so welcome and warm inside. Aly freed her aching voice, singing the next line.

_I wake up to the sound of music  
Mother mary comes to me  
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be._

From high to low, from experienced to amateur; all their voices were set free, singing in unison.

_Let it be, let it be.  
There will be an answer, let it be.  
Let it be, let it be,  
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be._

They basked in the happiness for a minute before all breaking out into laughter. "Now _that_ is how we start a road trip!" Joe exclaimed.

* * *

**?**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	3. With a Little Help From My Friends

_I get by with a little help from my friends,  
I get high with a little help from my friends,  
I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends._

AJ opened her eyes, the sun light streaming through the windows of the van. She dug her fists into her closed eye lids and stretched her muscles, but immediately stopped when she noticed Oliver's head in her lap. He snored quietly as she gently ran her fingers through his shaggy hair. Removing her fingers, she looked up to the front seat; sure enough Aly was there chugging down a coffee from Starbucks.

"Figures" she whispered to herself, rolling her eyes. She directed her attention outside the window and watched the railings on the highway blur by. The highway was so boring; you always saw the same things. Cars passing by, always in a hurry to be somewhere, railings lining the sides of the road and maybe if you're lucky, a dead bird.

But, only if you're lucky.

"AJ?" she heard someone whisper from behind her. She slowly turned her head, trying to not make any sudden movements; possibly waking Oliver. Miley smiled back at her, "I think we've got a problem" she quietly giggled, pointing down to Nick whose head was resting in her lap and drooling on her skinny jeans. "Don't worry, I know what you're going through" AJ smiled as she turned back around, trying not to push Oliver off her lap.

It wasn't long until everyone else was up and very awake. And when she meant very awake, she pretty much just meant Aly. She had had 4 cups of coffee already and it was only 10 AM. "When's the next bathroom break?" Kevin asked from the passenger seat. "10 minutes, just 10 minutes, yup that's all 10 minutes!" Aly was bouncing up and down in the driver's seat, causing the car to swerve a little. "Uh, maybe I should take over…" Kevin offered, beginning to unbuckle his seat belt. "NO!" Aly exclaimed, "I'm fine … I'm just a little … jittery. That's all" she smiled and laughed a little. Kevin slowly buckled his seat belt again and watched her intently. He was not going to be on the news for letting some crazy rock star who just had too many cups of coffee get them in a car crash.

AJ turned around in her seat and looked over at Selena who was bobbing her head to some music she was listening to on her Ipod. She had forgotten her Ipod back at her house, this was going to be a loooong drive.

* * *

"Reese Witherspoon"

"Jennifer Aniston"

"Reese Witherspoon"

"Jennifer Aniston"

"REESE WITHERSPOON!" Selena argued.

"JENNIFER ANISTON!" Miley shot back.

"SHUT UP ALREADY!" AJ screamed at the top of her lungs.

There was a moment of silence.

"Reese Witherspoon" Selena whispered.

"THAT'S IT!" AJ screamed, attempting to climb over the seats and grab Selena, but Oliver pulled her back. She kept on trying to claw her way back towards Selena.

Selena and Miley screamed continuously as Miley tried to latch onto Nick, attempting to hide herself. "HOW MUCH LONGER!?" Oliver shouted over the girl's screams.

"TOO LONG!" Joe answered him.

* * *

"Uh yeah, we'll have 9 happy meals, 5 diet cokes, 1 root beer, 2 sprites and one water bottle." Kevin requested into box that took your orders in the McDonald's drive thru.

"Is it possible for you to ever get sick of McDonald's?" Lily wondered.

"There is absolutely, positutely _no_ way you could ever get sick of McDonald's" Aly answered her question.

"That will be 30 dollars and 93 cents sir. Please drive up to the window" the employee announced. The car slowly moved forward until they made it to the window. "Hi, here are your…" the teenage girl stopped dead in her tracks, her mouth agape.

"Here's the money" Kevin smiled, trying to hand the money to her. She involuntarily, stuck her hand out to take the money. She looked into the back windows and saw a girl waving her hand frantically.

Of course, it was Miley.

"Hi!" Miley smiled widely, waving her hand at a rapid pace. "I don't think you're helping the situation" Nick whispered into her ear. "Oh who cares?" Miley giggled, "I just wanna have some fun, come on Sel. Join in!"

Selena hopped over Nick and she and Miley pressed their faces up against the window and waved. The girl, still holding the money tried to find words. "You're all … and in New Jersey … and I mean you're all … together … with each other … and I, I just …"

Kevin just smiled politely, waiting for her to snap out of her little episode; what else could he do? "I'm so sorry!" she began to apologize, blushing. She hurriedly grabbed the food and stuck it out in front of her. "Here you go!" she said fast. "I'm so sorry for my behavior, it's just that I love you and I can't believe you're all here in our small town and I just love you guys so much! You all are freaking amazing and did I mention I love you guys? Oh my god Lizzie breathe!" she gasped for air.

Aly giggled softly in the front seat, "Well thank you" Kevin tried not to laugh, "We appreciate your support" he pressed the button on the door, causing the window to rise. He pressed down on the gas lightly and began driving away. Lizzie watched as the car began to drive away and sure enough, Miley was still waving in the backseat.

(insert line here)

"I spy something … blue" Joe showed off a toothy smile.

"The sky" Kevin rolled his eyes.

"Hmph" Joe folded his arms across his chest, "Whatever, you're turn Lily"

Lily smiled at her boyfriend, so clueless.

"Ok, I spy something … unbelievably hot"

"Psh, that's easy … me!" Joe smirked.

"No you're just breathtaking" Lily teased him. "No you are" Joe smiled at her, resting his forehead on top of hers.

"Ok, _this_ close to puking!" Nick exclaimed.

"Oh shut up Nick" Lily rolled her eyes.

"And besides you're just jealous that I'm hotter than you" Joe smirked. "You're too hot for your own good" Lily laughed.

"ALRIGHT PULL THE CAR OVER NOW! IT'S COMING UP MY THROAT!"

* * *

**So for those of you who think that Taylor is gone, she's in New York; where they're heading. She'll be coming into the story a little later on. Drama probably won't start up for a couple more chapters :) So enjoy the happy, dramaless chapters while you can! Lol.**

xxEmilyKearsexx


	4. Shiver

_Shiver away, I thought the action was real  
Somewhere I know that's just the way you are  
It's hard to believe that you're a part of me_

The van pulled up to the beach house, the gravel crumbling underneath the tires. The back doors swung open and out came Joe, running for his life. "BATHROOM!" was all he screamed as he ran for the door. Lily and Selena stepped out next, followed by AJ and Oliver. Kevin slammed the driver's door shut and walked around the car, leaning against Aly's door to admire the house. "Wow Miles, this is really nice!"

Miley grinned at their satisfaction, "Aunt Dolly doesn't just have good taste in clothing, she can spot a good deal on real estate within a thousand miles"

"Wow, she must have really good eye sight…" Oliver mumbled to himself.

* * *

The house was incredible. The front door opened up to a short hallway leading to a foyer. In the foyer, there were 6 doors. Four of them leading to bedrooms and the two other leading to a bathroom and the basement. As they entered the house, Selena immediately threw all her belongings on the ground and rampaged up the stairs. Kevin didn't follow her and instead opened up the door to a bedroom. There before him, stood a king-size bed. He opened up his arms and ran for the bed, indulging himself in the fluffiness. "THIS IS THE LIFE!" he exclaimed, his voice coming out muffled thanks to the pillows.

"This is sweet!" Selena grinned looking around upstairs. A kitchen was on her right side, leading off into the dining room and living room. There were no walls, hiding the rooms from each other, they all just meshed together.

Selena slipped into the kitchen and felt the coolness of the tiles under her toes. This house was going to be there home for the next week, this should be fun.

* * *

"Alright, mac and cheese time!" AJ announced to the group as they all gathered around the dining room table. "Well isn't this a fancy meal for our first dinner together" Oliver laughed. AJ just nudged him away as she set the pot of steaming noodles onto the table. "Wanna sit next to me Miles?" Selena offered. Miley looked over at the chair and shook her head, "I'm actually gonna go out on the deck, Nick want to come?" she asked. "Actually I was going to eat…" his voice trailed off. "_Are you sure you don't want to come?_" she winked at him. Nick threw her a confused look, "I have to eat Mi, I can't just go hungry." "Nick…are you _sure_ you don't want to come?!" she asked much more forcefully this time.

He was finally catching on.

Nick made an 'O' shape with his mouth and nodded his head. They walked over towards the door, leading to the deck. Once Miley closed the glass door, she turned and smiled at Nick. "What are we doing out here?" he asked. His answer was a simple smile and before he knew it, Miley was pulling him along to a destination unknown by him. She brought him to a metal spiral staircase. "Where's this lead to?" he asked. The two silently climbed the winding stairs, "to the stars" Miley whispered, her entire presence practically glowing.

* * *

"You know, those two have been outside for quite a while now. Don't you think?" Kevin asked the group. "Oh shut up" Selena smiled, placing her hand on top of his. "Just keep watching the game"

The group sat in the living room, all spread out. AJ and Lily were lying across the floor, right in front of the TV; propped up on pillows. While Joe, Aly and Oliver were sitting on the big couch and Kevin and Selena lay on the love seat. "There's not much to do out on a deck…" Kevin mumbled to himself. "Drop it!" Selena giggled, hitting him upside the head with a pillow that she had been sitting on before.

At that exact moment, the phone in the kitchen rang. "I'll get it!" Aly offered, lifting herself up off the couch. She casually walked into the kitchen…no need to rush.

_Ring Ring_"Aly, pick it up before they hang up!" Oliver shouted. "I KNOW!" she yelled, back. _'Teenagers' _she thought to herself, while rolling her eyes.

_Ring Ring_

Yeah, sure she was one too. But, everyone was more mature than Oliver.

_Ring Ring_

"ALY!" everyone in the living room shouted in unison, turning around in their positions. "I KNOW!" she proclaimed, once again.

The room fell silent, the phone no longer ringing.

"Shit" Aly winced as she turned around to be met with 6 glares.

_Beep_Yes, the answering machine would pick it up!

"_Hey Miley, it's your Aunt Dolly. Just checking in to see how you youngsters were doing. Is everything fine out there? Hoping Joe didn't break anything yet."_"IT WAS A ONE TIME THING!" Joe shouted towards the answering machine.

_"Yes Joey, of course it was a one time thing"_ laughter could be heard from the other line. _"Now Miley, darlin'; I was left with an awfully strange message the other day from that young boy … Jake was it? I'm just playing with you darlin', of course it was Jake"_ she laughed again. _"He was asking where the gang had went this summer. Said the house was empty, so he tried your cell phone and got nothing. So he called here, hope you don't mind that I told him you were out at the beach house. Of course you don't!"_ You could practically see her smiling on the other end, _"Well have a nice night ya'll! See you in a few days!"_

_Beep_

The message had ended and no one said one word. All you could hear was the sounds of the baseball game, playing on the TV. Selena shifted in her seat awkwardly, "So…" she started, "What now?"

* * *

The hammock set up on the flat roof, swung back in forth; keeping its steady rhythm. A warm, summer breeze hit Miley's face; causing all her muscles to relax. "I told you we were going to the stars" she whispered into Nick's ear, causing him to shiver; even though it was mostly warm out. Miley lay there in Nick's arms, swaying back and forth on the hammock. No one else knew about the stairs, except Miley so far … and now Nick. By sunrise, everyone would know. But, for now; they kept it to themselves. "If you squint your eyes and steady your focus on one of them, it seems as if you could almost reach them" she smiled, letting out a nice sigh; she was finally relaxing. "I have my own personal star, thank you very much" Nick softly laughed. Miley turned her head which was resting on Nick's chest and knitted her eyebrows together, "Really?" she asked, now curious. He nodded his head, smiling like an idiot and sucked in his breath, "You" he breathed out.

* * *

Miley woke up the next morning, hungry as ever. She hadn't had dinner the night before, due to she and Nick's escape plan. She began to swing her legs over the side of the bed, but hit the wooden railing; remembering she was on the top bunk. She let out a frustrated sigh, before scooting down to the end of the bed and climbing down the small ladder. She snuck tip-toed past Selena's bed, sticking her tongue out at her on the way; she got the only single bed in the room while Miley and Lily had to share the bunk bed. Her feet sunk into the cozy carpeting as she made her way across the bedroom. She finally made it to the door and slowly opened it, trying to be quiet. However, the door had other plans in mind. It creaked loudly, causing Selena to toss in her bed. "Crap" Miley muttered to herself, she watched Selena finally settle again and her breathing become even.

The sound off eggs being cracked made Miley turn her head as she stepped into the foyer. She ascended the stairs quietly. As she placed her foot on the last step and looked into the kitchen, she smiled. Sure enough, Nick was standing in front of a bowl, attempting to crack eggs. "Morning" she greeted sweetly. Nick jumped at her voice, "Oh Miley! You scared me!" he placed his floury hand over his heart. Miley giggled as he removed it and left a hand print. "Need help?" she asked, making her way further into the kitchen and settling herself on a stool, by the counter. "Na, I think I've got it covered" he shrugged his shoulders. "Oh really?" she arched her left eyebrow, pointing to all the shells in the overflowing bowl. Nick blushed a deep red, "Ok, so maybe I could use a _little_ help"

Miley just rolled her eyes, "Mhmm … that's what I thought" she then hopped off her stool and walked over towards the refrigerator. "Eggs" she stated as she tossed him the two eggs. "Eggs" he confirmed, catching them and placing them on the counter. "Milk" she listed off, tossing him the carton of milk as well. "Milk" he confirmed, placing it next to the eggs. She reached up to the cabinet and grabbed the box of flour. "Flour" she proclaimed, as Nick slowly turned around. "Flou-" he was cut off with a handful of flour hitting his face. "or" he coughed. He began to open his eyes and was met with a smiling Miley. "Woops" she shrugged her shoulders innocently. "Woops?" he asked, sarcastically. She nodded her head, still smiling. "Woops?" he repeated again, a small smile growing on his flour-covered face as well. He then grabbed a handful of flour and tossed it at her.

Soon, eggs were hitting the cabinets, cracking open and letting the goo seep down the glass. Flour was spilling out across the tiled floors and getting stuck in their hair. Spoons were being chucked at one another, hitting the milk and causing it to spill over and splash onto the flooring.

Almost sounding as if a stampede, many footsteps were heard, making their way up the stairs. "What is-" Lily stopped at the top of the stairs, her mouth nearly dropping to the floor. Looking as if almost drunk, there lay Miley and Nick on the kitchen floor, covered in flour and egg; holding their sides from laughing so hard. "WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING!?" Lily exclaimed. Miley caught her breath and smiled innocently up at everyone, "Making pancakes?"

As if on cue, a door slamming downstairs could be heard, then another. A big bang sounded throughout the house; almost as if someone had fallen. Then footsteps stomping up the stairs could be heard. An exasperated Joe came flying into the kitchen, "Pancakes!?" he exclaimed, out of breath.

"How come you could hear her say that? But, you can never hear Mom when she asks you to take out the trash?" Kevin asked, curious now.

"I have selective hearing" Joe declared, "Mom said I was cursed with it"

* * *

_Ring Ring _

"I'll get-" Aly started, but stopped before she could even lift herself from the stool, "You can get it Oliver" she bowed her head, ashamed. He quickly ran over to the phone and placed it to his ear. "Hello?" he answered, "TAYLOR!"

Joe's ears perked up at the mention of the girl's name, as well as everyone else's did. "I can't believe you're finally calling!" Oliver smiled, walking back over to the kitchen counter, where Joe, Aly and Lily sat. Selena and Kevin had gone for a walk while Nick and Miley were trying to still clean themselves up after their … incident. AJ casually walked over to the group and stood behind Oliver. "Yeah, I know you're here in New York"

Oliver pressed the portable phone up, closer to his ear. "Here?" he knitted his eyebrows together.

"What do you mean _here_?"

* * *

**So this beach house I'm talking about ... is actually my aunt's beach house in REAL life that I'm attempting to describe.** **Oh, and you know that whole pancake incident thing? Yeah, that actually happened to me. Please, please don't ask how that started and ended. Lol. REVIEW!!**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	5. Morning Light

_Well you're all I ever dreamed of  
You're stars and nines and threesomes, oh that's right  
And with the morning light got your mind in sight  
And I want to be there all my life_

She awoke to darkness, climbing down from her squeaky springed daybed. Her feet padded across the carpet and out the door. She could hear dishes clatter with echoes from upstairs, but ignored it; instead sneaking out into the early rising sun.

The brunette inhaled the smell of damp Earth as she jogged down the steep hill, making her way towards the beach. Once she reached her destination, she buried her toes into the sand; dragging them along the grainy beads, loving the feeling of the coolness.

Waves crashed up against the rocks, washing up seashells to the shore. She slowly sat herself down onto the sand and buried her feet and hands in the grains. Miley watched as the orange sun slowly rose over the horizon, setting off a soft glow. Seagulls squawked above her, flying towards the boardwalk, searching for food. She smiled as a gentle gust of wind connected with her face, sending a warm feeling to shoot through her body. Remembering a line her mother used to whisper to her in the morning, trying to wake her up slowly caused a tear to come to Miley's eyes.

_As the sun rises and the moon lays to rest  
Come my sweet Miley, it's time to give them your best  
The stars have faded and the winds have slowed  
Where's that bright smile we all love and know?  
The sun is disappearing my beautiful, the night will never declare they won  
Open those big blue eyes and cue the sun…_And when she would open her eyes, her mother would kiss her on the forehead and whisper, "Smile beautiful, it's the start to a new day; with more smiles and more laughter" and then she would lift herself off Miley's bed and be whisked away to the next task needing to be completed.

After her mother's death, her mornings were dull. Consisting of no such light her mother presented. Those mornings turned into pale, silent afternoons and soon the night caught up with Miley, overthrowing the sun. Miley bowed her head at the disgustingly sad thought; it had taken her a while to return to normal or as normal as she could be without a mom.

"I knew you'd be here" a voice broke her train of thought; she turned her head; connecting blue with brown. She smiled softly up at the curly haired boy, "And I knew you'd find me" she answered. The corners of his lips curved into a sweet smile, "I see we're awakening the sun" his eyes were coated over with love, something she missed.

Nick was there when her mother died, he had _always_ been there. Every morning he would text her, call her or find some way to communicate with her saying; "ready to cue the sun?" and that took away part of the pain. He had a way of doing that.

Miley motioned for Nick to sit down besides her and he did as he was told. She scooted closer to him, trying to consume his body heat. She then rested her head upon his shoulder and let out a sigh of relief while closing her eyes. He placed a light kiss on her forehead. It was one of those kisses that reach your toes. Miley took a deep breath in and reopened her eyes, her eyelashes brushing up against her porcelain skin. "Ready to start the day?" Nick asked, resting his chin on the top of her head. "Always" she smiled, her eyes glistening with happiness.

* * *

Selena's breath was shaky, her heart beating at a fast pace. Beads of sweat rolled down her temples. She raised the volume on her Ipod, quickening her pace. Her legs burned and her brain was yearning for her to stop; but she ignored the urge. Only trying to move faster, pressing her feet down heavily onto the sidewalk. The steep hill which was the only way to get from the beach to the house was aggravating, why did this monstrous thing have to be so steep? It mocked her, causing thoughts of stopping to weave in and out of her mind. "Must. Not. Stop" she muttered to herself, trying to catch her breath. The house was nearing, the driveway almost visible. As she took her last few strives she held her breath, pushing herself; draining all her energy. She halted at the end of the driveway, resting her hands on her knees; sucking in rough, shaky breaths. She had left the house early that morning, before the sun had even risen; grabbing breakfast from the kitchen first. She needed some time to herself, everyone had been great lately; but being cramped into one house with 9 people was not exactly fun all the time.

Raising her arms in the air and resting them on top of her head, she slowly walked back to the house. The front door opened just as she made it to the front porch. "Oh hey" Kevin shot her a toothy smile as he made his way over to the girl. "Hi" she smiled, removing her arms from their current position, "Where were you?" he asked.

"Running"

He arched his left eyebrow, "I thought you hated running…"

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me" she shrugged her delicate shoulders as she slid past him and into the house.

Kevin just stood in his spot, sporting a confused expression, "Selena?" he whispered, but was answered … with silence.

* * *

"1 week?" Lily raised her eyebrow, while popping a mini wheat into her mouth. Taylor nodded her head, smiling. The two girls sat at the dining room table, eating breakfast. Taylor had arrived the night before, claiming that she had gotten off earlier then expected. "Wow, I can't believe that's all they're giving you off…" Lily shook her head, disappointed in the little time she got to spend with her friend. "Which means we should enjoy the time we have together" Taylor laughed, playfully pushing Lily's shoulder. Lily rolled her eyes at the girl's antics, "If that's so, then … Romeo and Juliet?" she asked, hopefully. Her eyes brightened a light shining through. "Popcorn with a cup of butter?" Taylor added. "And 2 root beer floats" they exclaimed in unison, giggling like the foolish girls they were. "God I've missed you" Taylor shook her head, her wavy locks falling into her eyes.

"Yeah, I'd miss me too" Lily sighed, her tone drenched with cockiness, "Lily!" Taylor exclaimed, throwing her head back and laughing.

"What can I say? I'm a lovable kind of person" Lily smirked.

Joe climbed the stairs with a fast speed, taking two at a time. "What time is it!?" he sang, Oliver close behind his heels. "SUMMER TIME!" Oliver answered.

Lily rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's mannerisms, "Which means…" Joe's voice trailed off. "Oh boy." Oliver held his breath. Taylor's eyes brightened, "BARBEQUE!" she exclaimed, jumping out of her seat and running over to Joe. "WAIT!" Oliver exclaimed, the three others looked over at the young boy; confused. "What?" Joe asked, wondering why there would be anything wrong with having a simple barbeque. "Joe can't cook this time…" Oliver narrowed his eyes at the boy as Joe bowed his head in shame.

"It was a one time thing…" he mumbled.

Taylor rolled her eyes playfully, "Joe, everything with you is a _one time thing_"

* * *

Droplets of perfume splashed onto AJ's wrist, causing a very sweet aroma to fill the room. "Now that Taylor's sleeping in our room…" Aly glared at AJ, "that means no more blasting Johnny Cash to help you fall asleep, _I_ can barely handle it!"

The younger sister lightly shook her head, pushing herself off the queen sized bed. "You know you secretly like it, I can hear you humming along to the tune…" Aly's glare softened as a deep red spread across her cheekbones, "It's catchy, what can I say?"

AJ giggled softly as she made her way for the door, "Do you find it weird?" she asked out of the blue, "What weird?" Aly asked, sitting down in the spot AJ had been occupying earlier. "Well…" AJ started, focusing her gaze onto the flooring, "That you're the only one here who isn't seeing anyone…"

Aly looked over at her sister, now interested in what her thoughts were consisting off. "Taylor's not seeing anyone…" Aly reasoned. AJ rolled her eyes, "You saw the way Chace Crawford was eyeing her from across the room that one night at Ashlee's birthday party and they've been texting each other ever since" Aly thought about this for a moment, she supposed it was rather odd having to be surrounded by couples and be the only one without a companion. "I guess" Aly shrugged her shoulders. AJ half-smiled at her sister, "It'll happen though. Everyone finds someone…" she then made her exit, leaving Aly alone with her thoughts.

"Just some sooner than the others…" she muttered to herself before collapsing down onto the bed.

* * *

The wind howled, the storm brewing. "So, I don't think that barbeque is going to happen" Lily mumbled under her breath. Taylor nudged Lily, motioning her to pass the popcorn drenched in butter. Taylor, Lily and Selena sat upon the couch watching Romeo and Juliet as Oliver and Joe were covering the grill outside. Rain was pouring down onto the roof, sounding as if a thousand marbles were colliding with sheer metal. "Next time, avoid putting on about 4 cups of butter" Selena commented, scooping up a handful of soaked popcorn. Lily grabbed the popcorn from Selena's hands and stuffed it into her mouth, "The more butter, the better" she smirked as she chomped down on the food.

Oliver held himself as he slid through the sliding door, rubbing his arms up and down; trying to create friction and warm himself up. "Rain storms are banned from summer… they are not allowed!" he protested. "Just like how hurricanes are banned from New Orleans?" Selena rolled her eyes. "Jeez Sel" Taylor turned her head, now facing her friend; "What's up with being little Debbie Downer today?"

Selena turned her gaze towards the stairs, "Just … have a lot of things on my mind, that's all" she reasoned.

Lily and Taylor sent each other a look, wondering what could possibly be wrong.

"Sorry guys, I have to make a call" Selena excused herself. She lifted herself off the couch and glided towards the stairs, walking down them with a slow pace. Once in the foyer, she let out a sigh of relief and pulled her phone out of her back pocket. She quickly dialed the all too familiar number and waited as it rang. "Hello?" her father's voice came across the line, "Hi Daddy" Selena smiled.

"Sweetheart! How's the house?" he asked, Selena wandered into Kevin's room and took a seat on his bed. "It's … it's great!" she lied. "That's terrific" he replied, "Sorry pumpkin, I'd love to hear more about it but I have to go, I'll talk to you soon?"

"Dad, wait" Selena pushed, there was silence for a moment before he answered, "What is it Selena?"

She took in a shaky breath, before slowly falling back onto Kevin's bed, snuggling into his comforter. "How is she?" she asked, hesitant. She inhaled the scent of Kevin's pillow, taking in his natural smell. "Same as she was yesterday" he sighed, Selena buried her head into the pillow. "And the doctors?" she asked, her voice cracking. "Sel, I don't really wanna-"

"What did the doctors say?" Selena's voice was strong, forceful. "A month? Maybe two?" he guessed, his voice was hushed towards the end. Selena nodded her head, even though she knew he couldn't see her.

"Tell Mom I said I love her"

* * *

**Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've just been _real_ busy for school. Picking out a high school, sucks! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts. By the way ... I just watched Romeo and Juliet (with Leonardo Dicaprio in it) and that's why I mentioned it so much. It was awesome! Weird ... but awesome! Totally recommend it :)**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	6. I Want to Hold Your Hand

_Oh yeah, I'll tell you something  
I think you'll understand  
When I say that something  
I wanna hold your hand  
I wanna hold your hand  
I wanna hold your hand_

Selena walked back upstairs to be met with a soaking Miley and Nick. "What happened?" she asked astonished. "A little rain … that's all" Nick shivered. "A little rain!?" Miley exclaimed, "THAT WA-WATER IS COMING DOWN F-FAST OUT THERE!" she stuttered from the cold. Nick wrapped his arms around Miley's waist from behind. He then rubbed his hands up and down her arms, trying to warm her. She relaxed in his hold, feeling warmer and comfier already. "I'm guessing it's a night in?" AJ smiled.

* * *

"I'm too full to get the next batch of popcorn, Joe you go get it" Lily groaned. Joe looked over at her from his spot on the loveseat. "Why me?" he pointed his index finger to his chest.

"Because you're unbelievably hot and just look so much better taking that popcorn out of that microwave…" Lily explained.

"Lily…!" Taylor and Miley whined in unison, hating all this mushy stuff. "Hey!" Joe defended her, "It's not herself that she's just telling the truth!"

"You are in _way_ over your head…" Kevin shook his head. "At least we talk to each other, unlike you and Selena" Joe pointed out as he made his way for the kitchen.

The room fell into an uneasy silence. "I think I'm just gonna…" Miley started, while lifting herself up off the couch and pointing towards the stairs, "Yeah … I'll follow you" Nick continued. "What's that saying? Three's a party? Sure I'll come!" AJ added, dashing off after Miley and Nick.

"JOE! YOU BURNT YOUR HAND ON THE MICROWAVE AGAIN!? OH LET ME COME AND HELP YOU WITH THAT!" Lily shouted.

Joe walked out of the kitchen, holding the bag of popcorn; "no I didn't" he muttered, crumbs of popcorn falling out of his mouth.

"Oh just get back in the kitchen!" Lily sighed angrily at his bad timing.

All that were left were Selena and Kevin.

"I think we need to talk…" Kevin started.

Selena shook her head, biting her lip; trying to hold all her emotion in. "How are you?" he asked, hesitantly. "Fine" she answered simply. "And … how's your mother?" Kevin continued. "She's fine ... hanging out around the house and-" Selena started. "Sel, it's me. I know what's going on, why are you still trying to hide it?"

She finally let out a sob and ran over to his couch, falling into his arms. "She's not fine. My Dad's a wreck. Wizards isn't covering the bills anymore and I can't take all the stress" she breathed out; tears falling from her eyes. Kevin encircled his arms around her tiny frame and pulled her closer to him. Selena rested her head on his shoulder and sighed, "What are we going to do? They said my Mom doesn't have that much longer and she's refusing treatment…"

"Leukemia is tricky. We all know that, but you can't disrespect your mother's wishes" Kevin sighed.

Selena snuggled into Kevin's embrace, "What's gonna happen though?"

Kevin stroked Selena's tangled locks and sighed, "All I know is that you've only got so little time to spend with your mom so spend it wisely. Smile more … and remember, I'm still gonna be here in the end"

She looked up into his brown orbs and flashed him a tear-filled smile. "Promise?" she managed to choke out.

"Promise"

* * *

"I wish Joe hadn't mentioned anything" AJ sighed, "Now we're stuck down here until they work things out up there"

"It's Joe. What did you expect?" Miley mentioned.

Nick let out a hearty laugh, "What?" Miley and AJ asked, now curious.

Nick caught his breath, "I'm sorry. It's just that my mind keeps flashing back to the idea that you actually dated him!" and once that sentence left his mouth, a pillow collided with the side of his head.

"NOT FUNNY!" AJ exclaimed, "Too soon?" Nick asked, rubbing his head. "It's always gonna be too soon…"

The doorbell rang, causing the awkward moment to come to a pause. "I'LL GET IT!" Miley offered; springing up from her spot on the ground in the girl's bedroom and running out into the foyer. She laughed at the thought of AJ and Joe actually going out, when you really think about it … odd couple.

She and Oliver were pretty cute together …

Miley made her way for the door, reaching for the door knob.

Speaking of Oliver; where was he?

She turned the knob, still laughing at the thought. Her laughter faded away in an instant and she sucked in a deep breath of cold, icy air.

"Jake?"

"Hey Miley" he smiled … a sweet, innocent look.

Odd.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" she asked, breathless. Had no one told her he was coming?

"I thought your Aunt Dolly told you. I'm staying here for the night, our cast's airplane had a lay over and luckily I had friends staying in town!" he smiled.

Miley's eyes widened, staying for the night? Nothing good could come from this.

* * *

Rain drops slithered down the glass window and made contact with the frame, splashing into oblivion. "Having fun watching the rain?" Oliver laughed. Aly turned around from her spot on her bed where she had been looking out the window at the storm. "Not really" she smiled. "Dinner's almost ready. We're having frozen curly fries and chicken … luckily Nick knows how to prepare these things" Oliver joked, "What's up with you? You haven't come out of your room all day…"

"Nothing's wrong" Aly shook her head, "I just haven't been feeling very social these past hours"

"Well you missed a lot" Oliver declared, walking over to the bed and taking a seat beside her. "Oh really?" she arched her left eyebrow, prepared to hear the full story.

"Well … where do I begin? Selena and Kevin were fighting before, now they're fine. Ok so they weren't _fighting, _but Miley insists that they were because she wanted it to sound more juicer than it was. That girl and gossip … We have a new guest! Jake Ryan is staying over tonight and Nick has already broken a metal spoon in frustration." Oliver explained.

"Nick broke a metal spoon?" Aly asked shocked.

"Well, Miley told me that … but I guess you can't really believe her, can you?" he laughed.

Aly shook her head, "I don't think so…"

The two laughed slightly and looked around the room awkwardly, "So this is weird…" Oliver let slip.

"We haven't really caught up that much, have we?" Aly sighed.

"No … I think with all the hype about this trip, Demi, Jake and me dating your sister … we've all just been too distracted to talk" Oliver noted.

"You're dating my sister?" Aly asked, interested.

"Ok, so it's not _official_" Oliver rolled his eyes, but then smiled, "Yet"

"Mhmm" Aly laughed, "How are you going to ask her?" she asked interested.

Oliver's eyes brightened at this question, "I was actually hoping for your help on that one…" his voice trailed out.

A weird feeling appeared in the pit of Aly's stomach, it felt almost as if the sickening feeling were trying to fly up her throat. "Um, what do you need my help for?"

"OLIVER! DINNER'S READY! CAN YOU GET ALY FOR ME!?" AJ called down the stairs.

"We can talk later" Oliver smiled while lifting himself off the bed and heading for the door. Aly watched as he walked away, feeling stranger then before. "Oh and Aly?" Oliver turned around, now leaning on the doorframe.

"Hmm?" Aly looked up from her hands, which she had been playing with.

"Thanks" he smiled and then walked out of her bedroom.

And that's when it hit Aly. She didn't feel edgy about Oliver dating AJ, she didn't think he'd cheat on her or be a bad match. No, none of those were the problem.

The problem was, she was starting to like Oliver.

* * *

**I haven't written in a while. I know, I'm just getting a tad bored with this story, that's all. I'm not going to stop writing it any time soon or anything..**

Don't worry.

But, updates may be a tad slower. I'm planning on finishing this story though. I mean ... why not finish something you started? Tell me what you think about this chapter?? I've been feeling as if I don't have as many readers as I used to.

xxEmilyKearsexx


	7. I Want You

_I want you, I want you so bad  
I want you, I want you so bad  
It's driving me mad, it's driving me mad_

"So what movie are you filming?" Taylor asked, trying to start up conversation. Jake placed the drink he had been sipping down on the dining room table in front of him and picked up his fork, "It's called 'Into the Night' … it's a thriller. My first one actually, we're supposed to be going out to Utah tomorrow afternoon to film the woods scenes"

"What are you doing in New York then?" Oliver asked, "Wait … no, no. What are you doing in _Montauk_? This is the end of New York, nothing ever happens here." Aly smiled at his fowardness, not trying to hold back his thoughts or such. Jake gritted his teeth together and forced a smile, "the hotels in New York City felt too stuffy and strange. I came out here because I felt like being surrounded by friends…"

"Psh, friends…" Lily muttered under her breath. Kevin cleared his throat and gave her a stern look, "Sorry _Dad_" she rolled her eyes. Selena shuttered at the thought, "Please never say that again…" she shook her head at the thought.

"Curly fries anyone?" AJ picked up the tray, offering it to people. "I'll take some" Miley smiled, reaching her hands out in front of Jake to grab them. The light hanging from the ceiling reflected off her promise ring that Nick gave her, causing Jake to flinch. AJ passed the tray to Miley and she brought them back to her plate. She noticed Jake's change in behaviour, "Is there a problem Jake?" she asked, deadly sweetness dripping from each word that sprung from her lips. It sounded so sweet it could be mistaken for venom.

"No" he breathed out, "No problem at all. However, I think I might just go head downstairs and get ready for bed. I have to head out early tomorrow…" he began to get up from his chair.

Nick smiled at the next thought that came to his mind, "That's not going to be possible…"

"Why not?" Jake sighed, resting his hands on the table, half way out of his seat already.

"The rooms are already filled up, you'll have to sleep on the couch upstairs tonight" Nick smiled. Miley could sense the enjoyment Nick was getting out of Jake's discomfort. Jake plopped back down into his seat, "Chicken, anyone?" Joe offered the group.

* * *

Nick spooned some ice cream out of the carton and smushed it onto Miley's nose. "Hey!" she giggled. Miley was sitting on the kitchen counter, Nick standing in between her legs. "Oh, woops. Let me get that for you…" he laughed; kissing her nose, removing the sweet substance. The brunette giggled as his lips brushed up against the tip of her nose. Unfortunatly, a yawn escaped from her mouth. "Tired?" Nick asked, resting his hands on her thighs, "No I'm fine…" she yawned again. Nick rolled his eyes playfully, "I think it's time for Ms. Miley to get to bed" he laughed. "Only if you take me there" she argued. "Wouldn't have it any other way" he smiled. He gently pulled her to the edge of the counter and picked her up bridal style. They walked over towards the stairs, Miley latching onto his neck tighter; she snuggled her nose into the crook of his neck. "I've got you" he whispered, letting a small laugh come out as well. "You better" she whispered into his ear; causing a smile to form on his lips.

Jake watched from the couch as they descended the stairs and sighed. Why was it that Nick always got the good ones?

It wasn't that Jake was unlovable. He was just difficult and Miley couldn't understand that. But, Nick … Nick was this 21st century Romeo … and he couldn't live up to that.

He just had to face that … but facing that, was the ultimate challenge.

* * *

"Hey! Look's like the rain died down, now it's only sprinkling" Joe declared, "Wanna go down to the beach?"

"Joe…" Lily smiled, "It's 11 pm, why don't we go tomorrow morning. When we're fully awake" she offered. "But, that takes away all the excitement" he smirked. He tugged on her hand, pulling her towards the front entrance. "We'll be back later!" he announced to the rest of the house. AJ walked out of her room and glanced over towards them, "Where are you two going?"

Lily shot a look over towards Joe, "Out" was all she had time to say before he pulled her through the door. "All right well…" the door slammed shut, "See you later?" AJ laughed. She slowly ascended the stairs to find Taylor, Selena, Kevin, Oliver and Aly playing 'Taboo' at the dining room table. "Um … um … a bug! Uh-uh .. a dinasour! A lizard? Come on … give me more hints!" Aly screamed. "IT'S BIG AND SCALEY!" Oliver shouted. "Could it be … the world's largest scale?" she tried.

"YES!" Oliver exclaimed. The two high-fived each other and screamed, "ANOTHER WIN FOR THE BLUE TEAM!"

"How could you possibly have known that?" Kevin asked, in complete shock. "I'm just _that_ good" Aly stated. AJ laughed at the scene before her, it was nice seeing her sister and her … well she didn't exactly know what Oliver was at this moment in time, boyfriend? Friend? Something more? Well, it was just nice to see them getting along.

"Oh good! AJ you're here! Mind popping some popcorn for us? All this thinking is really effecting my stomach…" Taylor commented. "I'm not even gonna ask how that's possible" Aly laughed. "Sure" AJ smiled, walking over towards the kitchen. As she brought out the bag of popcorn, she continued to listen in on their game.

"Um the moon? The-the … lamp?" Selena tried. Time ran out, causing Oliver to hit the buzzer, "Ooh so close!" he smirked. "What was it?" Selena sighed, "A light bulb" Kevin half-smiled. "That's it … I'm done" Selena stated, while getting up from her chair. "It's too late to be thinking this hard" she declared. "I'll come with you" Kevin followed her towards the stairs. "Night guys!" Selena smiled, "Night Jake!" she called over towards the sleeping figure on the couch, all she got back was a "shnight"

"Well, there goes my team" Taylor smiled, "See you guys in the morning?" the other team nodded as she headed for the stairs.

Oliver and Aly began to clean up the game. "Who knew you could have this much fun with a learning game…" Aly smiled. "Who knew Jake snored?" Oliver joked. They both became silent and the snores of Jake filled the room. The two burst out into a laughter causing Jake to turn in his sleep. The two quickly covered their mouths in shame, trying to hide the laughter. "Popcorn's ready" AJ smiled, walking back into the room. "I was actually just about to go to bed…" Aly sighed. "Really? You're going to bed already?" Oliver asked.

"It's 11:15 now…" she rolled her eyes, "Well we'll miss you!" he joked.

"Ollie, wanna go up on the hammock and eat this with me?" AJ offered, "I'd love too" Oliver smirked, slipping his arm around her waist. "Night Aly!" they both exclaimed in unison while walking for the door, leading for the deck. Aly watched as it closed, quietly. "Night" she whispered, walking down the stairs to another sleepless night.

No dreams containing a certain boy to fufill her imagination. No fantasies of her knight and shining armour to rescue her from her distress. Nothing. It was just her and her pillow, spending another night … alone.

* * *

"Night Mi" Nick smiled, tucking Miley into her bed; placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. He began to climb down the ladder, but was stopped by a warm, gentle hand placed on his shoulder. "No" the girl whispered, "Don't go"

He climbed a couple steps up and smiled, "Selena's in here and Lily should be coming in at any minute now"

"They can't see you up here. Just stay the night, please?" Miley whispered, drawing circles on his cheek; causing him to melt. "What if…" he started.

"What if … what? You get to sleep next to your girlfriend for a night? What if we don't sleep at all and just kiss the night away? What if …" she continued, but was silenced with a kiss.

"I like the idea of that" he smirked, climbing into bed with her. She let him under the blankets and snuggled into his chest. He continued placing gentle kisses on her forehead. "Good night" she whispered, her eyes beginning to droop. "I love you" he whispered into her ear, but she was already out like a light.

* * *

"How come we find ourselves in this position more often than we should?" Lily eyed Joe. There she lay on the sand, him in between her legs, placing kisses along her collar bone. "Because I'm the kind of guy" he said in between each kiss, "who loves to appreciate women"

Lily brought herself up off the sand, pushing Joe off of her and arching her left eyebrow. "What I _meant_ was that I like to appreciate you and _only_ you!" he exclaimed.

"I've taught you well" she smiled. "And I just love you" he laughed.

"You-you what?" she spit out. "Hmm?" he asked, forgetting what he said and going back to kissing her neck. She pushed his face away and gaped at him, "What was that you just said?" she asked again. His face turned red, remembering now; "I really like you?" he tried.

"No…" she shook her head, "You … you said you loved me" her heart fluttered.

"And?"

"And …" she paused, "really?"

"Why wouldn't I?" he asked. "I mean … you're Lily Truscott! Who doesn't love you?" he smiled. "What's so great about being Lily Truscott?" she asked, not impressed at all. "What's not great? You're beautiful, funny, you love to skateboard, you actually laugh at my corny jokes, you take the time to listen to your friends problems and the list can go on. You're Lily Truscott, the one and only"

There was silence for a moment. The two just stared at each other for a while before Joe became red in the face. "I'm sorry" he apologized, "that was too fast wasn't it? I should have waited a little while longer…"

Lily silenced him with a kiss then pulled away,"We've waited long enough" she whispered in his ear then placed her lips back on his. She pulled away only once more to whisper; "I love you too"

* * *

**I owed it to you guys to update super duper fast. Hope you enjoyed it :)**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	8. Little Miss Obsessive

_Late night you __make me feel like I'm desperate  
I'm not desperate.  
Oh, a little bit possessive,  
little miss obsessive,  
can't get over it…_

The front door closed lightly, Joe pushed Lily up against the glass frame. He immediately started planting open-mouth kisses on her collarbone. "Ow" she giggled, "It's cold". "It's summer…" he mumbled against her neck, "It can't be cold"

"Well it is" she giggled, closing her eyes; relaxing in his embrace. Joe kissed his way up her neck, traced her jawline then connected their lips. Her arms fell limp at her sides as she shivered from the pleasure of his lips on her. Joe pulled away and looked at her, concerned. "You're really that cold?" he whispered.

It was 3 AM and they had just gotten in from the beach. Everyone was asleep in the household … or at least, were supposed to be.

"I'm not shivering because of that…" she smirked, snaking her arms around his neck and pulling his lips back to hers.

Selena stepped out of her room at that exact moment, causing both Lily and Joe to freeze; their lips still connected. The girl mumbled something as she made her way for the bathroom, she turned the bright light on and then shut the door. All that was heard next was water running. The couple broke away from each other and laughed, "That was close…" Lily giggled. "Hey, what are you guys doing up so late?" Taylor yawned, walking out of her room.

"_This_ close" Joe sighed. "Um we both were thristy, so we decided to go get a drink of water!" Joe lied. "Why are you still in your clothes though?" Taylor asked, scratching her head. "We were …" Lily started. "We were at the beach…" Joe interrupted. "Oh" Taylor sighed, "Well you should probably go to sleep soon because Aunt Dolly is visiting tomorrow"

"Thanks" Lily smiled. Taylor then walked back into her room and closed the door behind her. "Wow, we got caught by the easy one."

Kevin stepped out of his room and leaned against the door frame, "What are you guys doing up so late?" he rubbed his eyes.

"Crap" Joe whispered.

* * *

Nick watched as Miley's chest moved up and down, her breathing perfectly even. He gently stroked her hair and placed a small kiss on her forehead, causing her to stir in her sleep. Slowly her eyes fluttered open; reveling those electric blue beauties. "Hi" she whispered, stretching her muscles. "Hi" he smiled. "What time is it?" she asked groggily. "Time for you to get a watch" he teased. "Corniest joke ever…" she whispered, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

The door to the bedroom opened and in came Selena, looking beat. "Selena" Nick whispered, she looked up at the bed. "Wha- huh- what?" she asked confused, "God?" she looked up at the ceiling. "Pffftt" was the noise Miley made, stuffing her face into her pillow; trying to conceal her laughter. Nick decided to play along, "Yes, yes it's God."

"If this is about not going to church last Sunday … I'm sorry! My Dad was busy with my Mom and he … he – I'm sorry ok?" Selena broke down.

Nick's smile faded and he leapt down onto the carpeting where Selena was standing; crying. "Selena." Nick wrapped his arms around her, "Sel, what is it? Why are you crying?" he asked. Miley leaned over the railing, watching. What had gotten into Selena?

All she kept muttering over and over again was, "I'm so sorry. So so sorry. Just help her God, help her…"

* * *

"But help who!?" Miley shouted in Kevin's bedroom. He sat at the edge of his bed with his head hung low, "I told you. I don't think she wants you to know"

Miley sighed in frustration, "I don't care if she doesn't want us to know. We're her friends, whether she likes it or not we need to be there for her. Sometimes telling us these things is better then locking them away"

"I-I don't think I can tell you" Kevin sighed.

As Miley fought with Kevin, trying to solve this mystery; Selena lay in her bed whimpering with Nick by her side. "You don't want to talk about this?" Nick whispered. Selena just snuggled deeper into the covers, "Is it your Dad? Your Mom? Demi?" Nick threw in Demi's name out of curiosity. Selena snorted at the mention of her name, "You know I heard Miley mention her coming here soon…"

Selena didn't budge, "Damn, I thought that would've worked…" Nick muttered to himself.

"Why won't you talk?" Nick questioned her.

"I'm tired" she whispered.

"I know…" Nick nodded, expecting to hear a response; all he got back was the sound of her snores.

* * *

Aly woke up in a deep sweat. Turns out she did have a dream – except it was about her _sister's_ prince charming. She could hear shouting coming from outside the door. She looked over at her sister who was snuggled under the covers next to her. Aly slowly slipped out from underneath the covers and tip toed across the room, careful to not step on Taylor who was sleeping on a blow-up air matress. She opened the door and entered the foyer, closing it gently behind her. She heard a door click, but it wasn't hers. She snuck a glance over to her side to find Oliver sneaking out of his room as well. "Hey! Ollie!" Aly whispered. He turned his head and spotted her, a smirk forming on his face. "I see you heard the shouting too" he pointed out.

"Right" she nodded her head. She wasn't going to tell him she actually woke up because she had a dream about him.

Yeah, umm .. no.

"Midnight snack?" he offered. "It's like 4 am" Aly laughed. "Eh, what's the difference?" he shrugged his shoulders. She followed him up the stairs, trying not to make too much noise. As they ascended the stairs, Aly got a better view of Jake; practically dead on the couch. "Lucky son of a-" Oliver's voice trailed off. "Ryan" Aly finished for him. The two laughed quietly, walking into the kitchen. "Frosted Flakes?" Aly offered. "You know it!" Oliver smiled. He took a seat on a stool, in front of the counter; watching Aly poor two bowls of cereal.

Aly looked up from the cereal and smiled; he returned the favor.

She felt dirty. This didn't feel like the 'friend zone' it felt more like the 'flirting zone' which was supposed to have caution tape plastered across it. "Milk?" Aly asked. "Na. I like eating cereal plain" Oliver declined. Aly's eyes brightened, "Really? So do I! AJ likes it with milk and strawberries, but that just gets everything soggy and disgusting" Aly scrunched up her nose for effect.

"Took the words right out of my mouth" Oliver smiled. Realization smacked Aly hard across the cheek – she was obsessed. Obessesed with Oliver and bashing her sister to try and make him like her more.

It was a terrible thing to do.

"You know she also hates peanut butter and jelly. I think that's a crime, I mean … it's a classic!" Aly laughed while handing him the bowl.

"What is wrong with this girl?" Oliver joked.

Aly smiled.

Hey, she never said she didn't like it.

* * *

**What?? Aly!! NO! AJ's your sister! Haven't you ever heard of the saying "blood is thicker than water?"**

**Hmm .. you haven't?**

**Well that explains a lot**

**Review and you'll get to find out what happens next in this messy little thing called 'life' they're living!**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	9. Cry

_I have seen peace. I have seen pain,  
Resting on the shoulders of your name.  
Do you see the truth through all their lies?  
Do you see the world through troubled eyes?  
And if you want to talk about it anymore,  
Lie here on the floor and cry on my shoulder,  
I'm a friend._

You know … it's funny how close people can get to each other within such a small amount of time. Within just one measly hour Aly and Oliver had learned so much about each other and Aly … was loving it.

"It's 5 am" Oliver laughed lightly while yawning. "Your point?" she giggled.

"HIS POINT IS SHUT UP AND GO TO BED!" Jake moaned from the couch. "Hey! You're our guest! Treat us with some respect, would ya?" Aly laughed.

Jake popped his head out from behind the couch and glared at her, "If you weren't a girl…" he mumbled.

Footsteps could be heard, echoing throughout the rooms. Selena's figure appeared at the top of the stairs, "Morning" she smiled. "Morning" Oliver and Aly responded in unison.

They had been too wrapped up in themselves to ask why everyone was fighting downstairs, leaving them clueless about the Selena situation. "What are you doing up so early?" Oliver asked from the counter. "Going for my morning jog" she responded while grabbing a water bottle from the fridge, "Tell Kevin what I'm doing when he comes up here. Just so he doesn't think I ran away or something" she rolled her eyes. "Umm … alright" Aly answered, unsure as to why Selena would say such a thing.

Selena quickly waved them goodbye, "See ya Jake" she smiled as she ran back down the stairs. Jake just moaned and threw the pillow over his head, trying to block out all the loud sounds.

* * *

Taylor rolled over on the air mattress and sighed, Miley was shouting at Kevin in the room next door and she hadn't gotten any sleep in hours. "What was that she just said?" AJ whispered. "She asked what's going to happen when Aunt Dolly comes…" Taylor answered.

AJ gave up on trying to sleep a half hour ago. When Miley was mad … the whole household could feel her rage. Muffled voices seeped through the walls, "What did Kevin say?" AJ asked once again.

"He said that Aunt Dolly didn't need to know. It would just cause more drama" Taylor sighed. She pulled the blankets up to her chin. "And you still don't know what they're fighting about?"

"No clue" Taylor's eyes began to close slowly.

* * *

It was silent. Even the wind stopped whistling, the birds stopped chirping and the waves stopped crashing. It … was … silent.

There they sat at the dinner table. Their hands folded, all staring at each other, all wondering what they could do to make this better. All wondering … why this couldn't just solve itself.

"She's on a morning jog" Aly reasoned.

"She told us this morning!" Oliver added.

"When were you two together?" AJ piped in.

Aly glanced over at Oliver who kept his eyes set on AJ, "We couldn't sleep because of _someone's _yelling…" he glared at Miley then brought his attention back on AJ, "So we came up to eat some breakfast"

"I was upset, ok?" Miley growled, "She's hurting and you're too blind to see it!"

"Miley!" Kevin interrupted, "We can see it, alright? Just because we're not doing anything doesn't mean we don't see it!"

"Then why aren't you trying?" Miley whispered, directing her attention onto her fingers which she was fiddling with.

"Maybe -- she doesn't want us to try. Miley, maybe she's one of those people who like to handle these certain things on her own" Nick explained, taking her hands in his. "Or maybe she's just hiding it" Jake muttered to himself as he poured himself a glass of juice in the kitchen. Everyone turned their heads towards the boy in the other room. "Excuse me?" Nick arched his left eyebrow. Jake rolled his eyes, sighed and set the juice down on the table; now looking over towards the group of people gathered together. "She could be one of these kinds of people I've played before. They tried to hide it just for someone to come and save them. They wanted their friends and loved ones to help them, but they didn't want to seem so greedy and selfish. Maybe she's like that character…" he shrugged his shoulder; picking up the glass of juice and walking over into the living room. The group watched him as he sat down on the couch, turned to TV on and began to watch the ball game.

Silence – once again; something that fell upon this group repeatedly.

"You think she's trying to hide it?" Taylor whispered.

"That's ridiculous!" Kevin boomed, pushing away from the table.

"It's possible!" Joe shrugged his shoulders.

"She'd tell me if that were the case!" Kevin shook his head.

"Kevin! As much as I don't want to say this … Jake makes a point" Lily cringed.

"You guys, you're honestly taking advice from him!?" Kevin's eyebrows rose.

"Yes, yes it seems reasonable" Miley sighed.

"You know what!? Selena isn't like that! She'd tell me if she was really hurting!" Kevin shouted.

"Just talk to her!!!" AJ argued.

"I DO!" Kevin shouted.

"WELL COME ON! JUST GET IT OUT OF HER ALREADY! I'M TIRED OF ALL THIS FIGHTING!" Taylor finally burst.

"AND YOU DON'T THINK I AM!?!" Miley screamed, jumping out of her seat.

"MILEY! Calm down!" Nick exclaimed.

"SELENA IS FINE! LET'S JUST FORGET ABOUT THIS!" Joe complained, jumping out of his seat also.

"Hey ya'll!" Aunt Dolly greeted everyone as she dragged her suitcases up the stairs, "How's my favorite group of teenagers?" she laughed.

"SHE'S NOT OK! AND NO ONE'S REALIZING THAT!!" Lily shouted.

"OH SO NOW YOU'RE TAKING THEIR SIDE!?" Joe exclaimed.

"NO!" Lily shook her head, "I'm just trying to point out the obvious!"

"SO YOU'RE CALLING US OBLIVIOUS!?" Kevin shouted.

"NO! SHE'S NOT!" AJ shouted, "SHE'S JUST TRYING TO MAKE A POINT"

"Did I come at a bad time?" Aunt Dolly muttered to herself.

"I CAN'T TAKE ALL THIS FIGHTING ANYMORE!" Oliver cradled his head in his hands on the table.

Selena appeared besides Aunt Dolly and smiled, "Hi. I'm Selena, you must be Aunt Dolly" she whispered.

Aunt Dolly turned towards the girl, "So you're the girl who's causing all this ruckus" she laughed quietly.

"Ruckus?" Selena arched her left eyebrow.

"YES! PLEASE! CAN'T WE STOP ALL OF THIS!?!" Aly shouted.

"NOT UNTIL KEVIN ADMITS SELENA IS HURTING!" Miley argued.

"Come on Kev…" Taylor placed her hand on his shoulder and sighed, "You don't have to mean it … just say it"

"No! SHE'S FINE! SELENA IS PERFECTLY-" he stopped when he noticed the girl standing on top of the stairway, "fine.." he whispered.

"Selena?" Miley whispered.

"I'm-I'm" Selena started.

"You're what?" Miley asked. "I'm not fine" she bowed her head.

"And there we have it folks!" the announcer on the television shouted.

"And there we have it" Taylor whispered.

Kevin stared at her and didn't see the once happy, lively girl. All he saw was a confused, broken young girl.

"You're not fine" he stated, trying to get it through his head.

"I'm not fine" she repeated.

* * *

**The household is. a. MESS! Jeez guys, get it together!**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	10. Not Your Enemy

_Let down your guard  
And show me your colors  
Don't fight it anymore  
Show me you're with me  
Open your arms  
I'm not like the others  
So don't fight it anymore no  
What will it take for me to make you see  
I'm not your enemy_

"I wish you had taken my side…" Joe muttered as he sat down next to the blonde. Sand gathered around his feet as he sank into the grains. There the sun set, changing from one brilliant color to the next. "Well, I wish you had taken mine…" Lily rolled her eyes. "But … you were wrong" Joe laughed. Lily looked up at him with hurt eyes, "Excuse me?"

Joe realized what he had just said, "What I meant was that … we have different opinions; that's all" he lied. "Just leave me alone for the night Joe" Lily sighed.

"Lily…" Joe laughed lightly; she turned her body away from him. "Lils?" he tried again. She didn't respond. Why was she getting upset over something so small? Something not even that important? Something wasn't right here…

"You're upset about something that simple?" Joe raised his eyebrows, not budging. "Joe … just drop it" she muttered.

"Not until we discuss this" Joe argued.

"UGH! WHY CAN'T WE JUST BE MORE LIKE THEM!?!" Lily screamed out loud. "Like who?" Joe asked using a soft tone. Lily sighed, "Like Miley and Nick…"

"Why would we want to be like them?" Joe asked, hurt. Lily turned her body around causing the sand to swish in an elegant formation. "Because…" Lily bowed her head; trying to avoid any eye contact possible, "They're so perfect and we're so … so … not"

Joe scooted closer to the hurting girl and slid his finger underneath her chin, lifting up her head and gazing into her pain-filled eyes.

"Us not being perfect makes it just so much better" Joe smiled. "How can we enjoy a relationship with so many flaws?" she sighed.

"Flaws possess beauty and you my dear, are drenched in flaws" he smiled.

"I'm gonna take that as a compliment" Lily laughed lightly.

* * *

"Think she's ok?" Miley sighed as she and Nick swung back and forth on the hammock. "I think everyone made it pretty clear before that she's not ok" Nick laughed lightly as he ran his fingers through her hair, combing her knotless hair. "What were they doing last you saw them?" Miley whispered. Nick smiled; "They were watching "Stepmom", Selena was balling her eyes out, Kevin was feeding her Dove chocolate and she was getting everything off her chest…" Nick's smile then faded and a frown replaced it. Miley noticed; "What is it?"

"She wants to go back" Nick sighed. "Well we all want to go back to happier times, but time machines haven't been created yet…" Miley laughed.

"No Mi. She wants to go back home … tomorrow"

"B-but … this is our only week to have everyone together" Miley's eyes widened. "But, her time with her Mom is numbered." Nick argued.

"How do you think these kinds of things happen?" Miley wrapped her arms around Nick's waist and nuzzled her head into his neck. "You mean having a loved one become diagnosed with a fatal disease?"

Miley nodded, "I guess God just needs Mrs. Gomez sooner than planned"

"God has a twisted way of showing it" Miley pouted.

"But, we're going to support Selena" Nick rested his chin on the top of her head and kissed it. "We're going to love Selena" Miley added.

Nick stroked her arm and smiled, "But, mostly…" Miley started; she smiled and closed her eyes; "We're going to be there for her through it all"

* * *

AJ stood in front of the TV; blocking the repeat of Grey's Anatomy. "Ok the idea is to turn around and watch it" Aly commented, "You're ass isn't enjoying the episode"

Taylor giggled at the comment, "So Selena's going home and we all know why…" AJ stated.

The two girls nodded their heads and Aly sank back into the couch groaning, "Does she really have to go?"

"That's not what I wanted to talk about" AJ smiled at her sister, "The problem is …"

"I CALL SHOTEE ON HER BED!" Taylor shouted.

"HEY!" AJ exclaimed, "I DIDN'T EVEN GET A CHANCE TO STATE THE ISSUE!"

"Not my fault you're a slow poke" Taylor said in a sing-song voice.

"This is officially the _worst vacation ever_" Aly groaned.

* * *

He stuffed his last sweatshirt into his suitcase and tossed it down the stairway. "Where are you going?" Oliver asked as he bit into a green apple. "I'm leaving" Jake rolled his eyes, "There's too much drama in this place and plus…my flight leaves in 2 hours"

"Sure you don't want to stay for another day?" Oliver offered. "Dude" Jake half-smiled, "Did you not hear me at dinner? I have a movie to shoot. Besides, don't I annoy you guys?"

Oliver shrugged his shoulders, "Not really. I mean, at the moment -- you're the only one thinking straight right now. Everyone else is caught up with Selena"

"Sorry, it's time for me to hit up that set" Jake stated as he started walking towards the stairs. "Hey" Oliver stopped him, "Call anytime. It was nice having a different guy around again. I swear, these Jonas'" Oliver laughed.

"I'll keep that in mind" Jake smiled as he walked down the stairs.

* * *

"Honestly Miley" Aunt Dolly smiled, "I don't mind sleeping on the couch!" she paused, "And 'sides I'm only here for one night. I don't wanna put any of ya'll out like that. It would just be too darn rude of me!" she laughed.

"Really, Aunt Dolly! I'll sleep on the couch, my back won't go out like yours" Miley laughed. "My back does not…" Aunt Dolly paused, "Fine … but only cause I love you"

"That doesn't make any sense" Taylor whispered in Nick's ear, "It's Aunt Dolly; it doesn't have to make sense" he muttered back.

Aunt Dolly scurried up the stairs and grabbed her small bag – at least that's what she claimed it was, it was at least 50 pounds.

"So you're sleeping in my room tonight, right?" Nick smirked.

Miley turned to face her boyfriend, "Of course"

* * *

"SO!" Aunt Dolly's voice boomed throughout the household, "How's this rotten old thing we call a beach house holding up? I gotta report back to the oldies in Cali" she smiled brightly.

"It's beautiful" AJ smiled.

"It's amazing" Joe insisted.

"Unbelievable!" Nick agreed.

"Words can't even describe the view!" Oliver added.

Aunt Dolly eyed them for a moment and then cleared her throat, "So whose going to really tell me the truth?"

And with that … the fighting broke out.

* * *

Yelling, screaming, complaining, moans and groans could all be heard coming from upstairs; "What do you think they're fighting about?" Selena whispered. "Don't worry, it's not about you" Kevin kissed her forehead. The two lay in Kevin's bed watching the ceiling fan spin in a fast motion. Dust particles fell from the ceiling and wind blew in from the sliding doors which led out onto his private porch. "What am I going to do without you for the rest of the week?" Kevin sighed.

"You could always come back with me…" Selena offered. Kevin rested his chin on her head and inhaled the scent of her vanilla honey shampoo; he involuntarily closed his eyes with pleasure. "I wish…" he breathed out. Selena sat up quickly causing Kevin to jump up in surprise as well. "No really!" Selena insisted, she crossed her legs Indian style; becoming more and more excited by the second. "I could show my Mom how truly amazing you are and she'll see how perfect you are for me" Selena smiled brightly. Kevin half-smiled, "That sounds amazing, but…"

Selena sighed, "But you have to stay here with your brothers…"

"I wish you could just stay here for the rest of the week." Kevin moaned. Selena slowly lay back down and rested her head on Kevin's shoulder who was now lying down again as well.

"Kevin?" she whispered. "Hmm?" he replied with his eyes closed.

Her voice became soft and gentle, "I'm tired of wishing…"

* * *

"…and he leaves his bowl out! I mean, can't you at least put it in the dishwasher? IT'S NOT THAT HARD!" Lily exclaimed.

"That takes muscle though! And as you all know … I have none of that!" Oliver complained. "MAYBE YOU SHOULD WORK OUT THEN! YOU WERE PRETTY FIT WHEN YOU WERE WITH BECCA!" Lily shouted.

An awkward silence fell over the room, "Take it back…" Oliver growled.

"No" Lily shook her head, "Take … it … back!" Oliver barked.

"NO!" Lily shouted.

"WHO WANTS DINNER!?!" Miley exclaimed. Oliver lunged for Lily, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?!" Joe shouted, stepping in front of Lily to block her.

"WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT!?!" he shouted.

"WHY ARE YOU GETTING SO DEFENSIVE!?! IT'S NOT LIKE YOU STILL LOVE HER OR ANYTHING!!" Lily yelled, hiding behind Joe's shield.

"HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT!?!" Oliver protested. Realizing what had just been said – he bit his tongue.

"… You still love Becca?" AJ whispered.

"No, no … I can't! I mean … I don't know, it's just…" Oliver sputtered.

In that moment not one, but two hearts were broken.

* * *

**Lily's being a jerk. Oliver's confused. AJ and Aly just got their hearts broken. Taylor scored an actual bed. Miley's sleeping with Nick tonight??? Kevin wants to go home with Selena. Joe thinks Lily posses millions of flaws. Jake and Oliver are all buddy-buddy now? And Demi's coming into the picture? (OH WAIT! I wasn't supposed to tell you that... Oops..)**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	11. Fall Into Me

_I need you to know you can fall into me  
That my arms are wide open  
And will always be  
Right here waiting, staying strong  
Come and fall into me_

Everyone stayed put, not daring to inhale one measly breath. "I'm going to my room" AJ whispered, "AJ … please don't be like this" Oliver whimpered.

"Call me when the basketball game is on …" she added as she descended the stairs. "Smooth…" Joe laughed slightly. Oliver turned his head, his shaggy hair flipping in the process, "Are you kidding me!?" Oliver spat. Lily winced at Joe's comment, "You shouldn't have said that" she whispered into Joe's ear. Oliver trudged over towards the deck's door and slammed it shut behind him.

"Well … I'm going to the beach" Taylor shrugged her shoulders. "You're ... going ... to the beach?" Miley knitted her eyebrows together. Taylor nodded her head, "None of this drama revolves around me so I'm heading down to try and get out of this mess."

"It's practically 9 at night" Nick stated. "Perfect time to watch the low tide!" she smiled.

"Unbelievable" Miley mumbled to herself as Taylor walked down the stairs. "I think I'm gonna go to bed" Lily sighed, "Tell me how the basketball game goes"

"I'll come with you" Joe smiled, "No, no.. you stay" she sighed as she made her exit; leaving a confused Joe standing there in the middle of the dining room, a heartbroken Aly sitting at the table and a frustrated Miley and Nick watching her leave.

"How did all of this happen?" Miley gaped, "This vacation was supposed to give us a break, some time to enjoy each other's company before we all went our own separate ways. But, it's like we've already headed off in separate directions earlier then expected"

"Mi-Miley…" Aly called her name, "What Aly?" Miley said nastier then interpreted. "I don't feel so good…" and the next thing Miley knew Nick was tossing her a trash can and Joe was holding back Aly's hair.

* * *

Miley crawled into Nick's bed that night with a headache; he slid under the covers next to her. "You ok?" he asked, stroking her arm lightly. Miley snuggled deeper into the covers and a tear slid down her cheek, "I want to go home" she whispered.

"But, the week's only half over" Nick pointed out. "No one's happy … everyone's breathing down each others backs" she paused, "I want to go home" she repeated once again.

Nick was about to say something when Joe walked into the room and closed the door behind him, he must have not seen them because he then slid down the door and buried his head in his arms and began to cry. "Jo-" Nick was about to start, "Shh" Miley stopped him, "Let him cry. We all need to let go of things piling up inside of us sometimes…"

And so Joe cried. He cried for himself, for Selena, for AJ's broken heart, for Oliver's confused love, for Lily's anger, for Kevin's pained soul and for everything else. He cried … with an unknown audience watching.

* * *

Taylor dipped her toes into the cooling water and threw her head back in pleasure; she needed some time outside of the house. She backed away from the water and sank down into the sand. She was just about to close her eyes when she felt her phone vibrate. She pulled it out from deep in her pockets and flipped it open.

**From: MiLeRzz**

We're a mess Tay and I need your help to clean it up … you in?

The blonde smiled as her fingers danced across the keyboard; finally someone was trying to fix this crazy mess instead of just fighting it. All of this disagreeing and arguing was only making matters worse.

**To: MiLeRzz**

I'm in.

* * *

"A day together?" Oliver raised his eyebrows, curiously, "we're together 24/7" he pointed out. Miley half-smiled at him as she watched him collapse on the couch next to Aly. AJ sat on the love seat, far … far away from him. Things hadn't exactly gotten any better between them. "Only a few more days and we're gone" Miley stated, "We'll all separate and then that's it, we won't see each other for the rest of the summer…"

Lily rolled her eyes, "Mile … we'll be calling each other all the time. Don't get all dramatic about something so non-important"

Kevin scoffed. "What?" Joe narrowed his eyes at him. "Nothing" Kevin muttered. "What's with the lame attitude man?" Joe pushed.

"Unbelievable" Kevin whispered to himself. "Either shut up or share your thoughts with us Kevin" Aly exclaimed. "Fine" he paused the exploded, "We're not important Lily!? We're so non-important?" Kevin shook his head, "What has this group become of? Nothing but fights and tears…"

No one spoke a word until finally Oliver cleared his throat, "I think I could go for a day together…"

Miley smiled approvingly, "Anyone ready for Monopoly?" she arched her left eyebrow playfully.

"Can I be the car?" AJ whispered.

Oliver lifted himself off the couch, took the top of the game and plucked out the car. He then slowly walked over towards AJ, very timidly. He reached out his hand and half-smiled, "You can be the car"

AJ took the car from his fingers and smiled shyly. Was this an act of peace?

The rest of the afternoon was filled with laughter and smiles. Everyone ignored the troubles that were swimming around outside that living room, just waiting to crawl back into their lives. For now, they were just a group of happy friends.

Even if they your friends _are_ the ones you're fighting with – you know you can always fall into their arms when you have no other place to go…

* * *

**Sorry I haven't updated in well ... forever! Stories of mine got deleted and I was banned .. (sigh) .. again. Seriously, what is up with FF these days? Hopefully you can enjoy these chapters before my story gets deleted.. FF is PISSING me off! It's causing me to critique all my work.. something I hate doing. I don't want to change my writing for anything.**

xxEmilyKearsexx


	12. The Best Day

_And I didn't know if you knew  
So I'm takin this chance to say  
I had the best day with you today _

"Ok, ok, ok" Aly gasped breathlessly. She could not stop laughing and it was all thanks to Joe, the couch and Lily's cell phone. "Honestly, it wasn't even that funny!" Lily narrowed her eyes at the blonde. Aly's body shook with laughter, shaking her head; disagreeing. "Did you have to put your ringer on that loud!?" Joe exclaimed, rubbing his butt. Falling off a couch took a lot out of people. "I need to hear it if my Mom calls!" a smile began to creep up on her. Joe's glare turned into a soft smile, "At least you're smiling again…" he noted. Lily's small smile immediately faded and a frown replaced it, "This doesn't mean I'm still not mad at you" she grumbled.

"But, it's a start" he grinned.

"It's our team's turn!" Miley interrupted them. "Alright, Tay … you're up!" AJ exclaimed, clapping her hands together to entice the girl.

A squeal slipped out from in between Taylor's shiny lips. "Timer's set… ready, set, go!" Nick exclaimed. He was the referee, he had to make sure everyone played a fair game and plus, it was odd numbered teams if he joined them.

Taylor stuck up three fingers, wiggling them in the air. "3 WORDS!" Miley shouted. Her whole team, which included Taylor, herself, Oliver and AJ were all sitting on the edge of their seats.

Taylor nodded her head quickly and then pretended to make a square with her two index fingers. "TV SHOW!" Oliver shouted. Taylor smiled, showing them he was right. "SO LITTLE TIME!" Miley yelled at the top of her lungs, a grin spreading across her glowing face. "YES!" Taylor squealed, jumping into Miley's arms.

"Dang" Nick muttered under his breath, "The timer wasn't even half way through!"

"Alright" Aly sighed, "Charades is officially over…"

"Why's that?" Oliver cocked his head to the right teasingly, "Is it because we _beat_ you Ms. Michalka?" he began to tease her, "Are you ashamed that you were overthrown by our _fantastical_ skills?"

"Honestly, how do you come up with these words?" Joe asked curious. "They just come to me…" Oliver shrugged his shoulders. "Alright, it's official. I need to start hanging around you more so I can learn some of _awesomelicious_ vocabulary" Joe's face lit up as he said his own made up word.

"Eh" Oliver shrugged his shoulders, "It's a start…don't worry dude. I'll have you spitting out totally faboo words in no time!"

"You hear that Kev?" Joe grinned, "He just said _faboo_!"

"How are we related?" Kevin shook his head.

* * *

Miley plopped down into Nick's lap and he subconsciously wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. "You did a good thing Mi" he whispered into her air. A smile graced her lips, "I was hoping everyone would start getting along again"

"Proves we can't hate each other for too long.." he laughed.

"AJ! I SWEAR I DIDN'T DO IT!" Oliver shouted.

"THE EVIDENCE IS ALL RIGHT THERE!" AJ's voice rang throughout the household.

Nick winced at the loud voices, "Spoke too soon"

Oliver ran after AJ who was speed walking into the kitchen away from the bathroom.

"Dude, you left the sink running! You're watch was right there!" she rolled her eyes.

Oliver sighed, "Well … global warming was never really my thing. I can't remember to turn things off all the time!" A giggle erupted deep down in AJ's throat. "You know … you're cute when you're scared of me"

The shaggy-haired cutie just blushed at her comment, "Well you're just cute all the time…"

Miley let out a sigh of relief, "That was a close call"

"I have an idea…" Nick declared.

* * *

"Pizza, moose tracks, The Hills and fuzzy slippers?" Miley laughed, "This is your ideal version of a good idea?"

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't mock my brilliant ideas!" Nick scoffed playfully. "My toes _are_ pretty cozy!" Joe smiled, wiggling his toes that were hidden in his slippers. Lily hit his arm and rolled her eyes. _Why hasn't she forgiven him yet?_ Kevin wondered.

Miley just shook her head and then lent down to place a soft kiss on his nose. "You are honestly a piece of work Jonas number 2 … but I love you anyways"

"Well that's always nice to know" he smiled, cheekily. Nick then scrunched his nose up in confusion, "What?" Miley laughed. "You haven't used that nickname in a while" he said. Miley's smile faltered for a moment, but then immediately picked right back up. "I guess I just miss how it used to be?"

"How what used to be?" Nick questioned. "Life" she shrugged her shoulders. "Well, how did it used to be?" he knitted his eyebrows together. Miley snuggled her head deep into her collarbone, placing light kisses on his soft skin, "Easy" she muttered.

"HEAR HEAR!" Taylor exclaimed.

There was silence for a moment, nothing but the sounds of the Lauren Conrad and her friend Lo talking on TV. "I say we make a pact" Lily announced.

"A pact?" AJ asked.

"Even if we all fight, we'll love each other anyways" Lily started.

"Even when we say we hate each others guts, we'll let one another lean on each others shoulders and cry anyways" Taylor continued.

"Even when we're hurting and say we're fine, we'll let the other one in because … that's what we're all here for" Nick added.

"And what are we all here for exactly?" Kevin asked.

Lily smiled, "To love each other"

Miley slipped off of Nick's lap and moved over towards Lily. She stuck her hand out on top of Lily's and smiled. "I'm in" she grinned.

"So am I" Taylor giggled. Soon enough, everyone was circling around Lily and adding their hands into the pile. "Joe … you're the last one" Aly pointed out.

Joe shook his head, "I'm not agreeing to anything until she forgives me for whatever I did"

Lily bit her lip. "You can't be true to this pact if you don't forgive me" Joe pointed out.

The blonde removed her hand from the pile and scooted closer to Joe. She then placed her two small hands on both sides of his face and smiled, "I forgive you" she whispered, pressing her lips upon his.

"So we're all together now!" Miley smiled. She was happy beyond belief.

A ring rang throughout the house. That's weird … Aunt Dolly had just left. She had left for good. It wasn't like she was making a trip to the beach. She was actually gone, heading back home. So who could be at the door?

Miley, Nick, AJ and Oliver all stumbled down the stairs and scrambled towards the door. "Who ever gets there last has to clean the boys' bathroom tonight!" AJ shouted. Even Nick and Oliver didn't want to have to be stuck with that job. Everyone sped towards the door, knocking down anything in their way. "YES!" Miley exclaimed in victory. She then turned the door knob and opened the door.

"Hi!" the brunette on the opposite side of the door smiled.

"Oh Lord…" Oliver whispered, a table behind him that he had bumped into before falling over and making a loud crashing noise at the same time.

* * *

**Okay, who has bought Taylor Swift's new album? If you haven't … HOW CAN YOU LIVE WITH YOURSELF!? Ahaa, just kidding. But, seriously. She just gets more amazing every single day! Her songs are so … pure and amazing. She's just beautiful and terribly talented. Gahh, Taylor Swift you are too freaking good for your own good!!! So ANYWAYS – I haven't updated in forever ****_because_**** (this is my pathetic explanation time) I haven't been inspired. But, oddly enough … Taylor's CD inspired me so here's your new chapter! You can thank Taylor Swift for the update :)****xxEmilyKearsexx**


	13. Beautiful Dirty Rich

_Beautiful, dirty dirty rich rich dirty dirty beautiful dirty rich  
Dirty dirty rich dirty dirty rich beautiful_

"SURPRISE" came a loud voice from downstairs.

"Holy … shit" Joe gasped.

"That's not…" Aly blinked.

"It couldn't be…" Taylor shook her head.

"Demi!" Miley's excited voice came from the lower level.

Kevin winced, "Mother of-"

* * *

"So you're visiting us before you go to Europe for your Summer tour.." AJ tried to comprehend.

Demi nodded enthusiastically, "Why not visit my best friends?" Miley winced at the term.

Acquaintances … maybe. Best friends? Never.

"Well that's …" Lily started, Miley nudged her arm harshly, "Great!" she lied through her teeth.

"I think you guys should celebrate!" Nick interrupted. The three other boys all nodded in unison, "Yeah!" Oliver agreed. He didn't want anywhere near Demi – not after what she did to him.

Lily had to herself from punching the two boys. They wanted them to celebrate? Celebrate what? The return of the she-devil?

"We should" Miley agreed, nodding her head along with Oliver.

Aly sucked in a deep breath. What was this girl thinking? Less than a month ago she wanted to rip Demi's head off. Now she wanted to celebrate her arrival?

"Shopping" Taylor suggested, "We should go shopping" she shrugged her shoulders. "Great idea!" Demi smiled.

Aly pretended to pick up a megaphone and turned to mumble into AJ's ear, "Congratulations ladies and gentleman, we have just landed in living hell. Please, keep your hands and feet in the vehicle at all time so they're not burned by the she-devil. Thank you and have a lovely day…"

* * *

Lily's feet were now dragging. Ten stores they had hit. Ten freaking stores. Miley had been able to out shop Selena. Who knew?

"Can we please go back?" Lily whined.

The girls walked in a pack on the outlines of the outlet. "We just got here!" Miley laughed.

"That was an hour ago" Lily pointed out.

Taylor was spinning in circles at the time, but then stopped abruptly; "Lily" she smiled, "Don't you know the rules?" Lily shook her head, of course she didn't know the "rules", she didn't even know there were rules. Taylor skipped over towards Lily's side and giggled, "You have to shop for at least two hours minimum"

Lily's eyes widened. Two hours? Her feet were already sporting blisters! Kill me. Kill me now.

"So where are you stopping in Europe?" Miley asked Demi curiously, she needed to start up a fun, light conversation again. "You know.. the basics" she shrugged her shoulders, "France, England, Germany, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Ukraine, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Italy … and possibly Austria" Demi explained all in one sentence.

Aly blinked a few time, "Bloody devil" she muttered under her breath. Miley cleared her throat awkwardly, "I wouldn't count that as the basics, exactly" she laughed lightly. Demi's smile was sickeningly sweet. "Wanna run into Wishlist?" she asked hopefully. Miley's lit up.

"So help me God if you enter that store Mi-" Lily was cut off by the swoosh of a door. "She's gone" Lily sighed. "With the she-devil" Aly pointed out. "We get it" AJ exclaimed.

* * *

Oliver sat sprawled on the big couch while the Jonas boys sat cramped together on the loveseat. "So…" Kevin sighed. "So…" Nick nodded.

They hadn't been alone, alone as in just being the guys in a while. "Yeah, uh .. so…" Oliver added.

**10 Minutes Later…**

"THIS SHIT IS AWESOME!" Joe exclaimed bouncing on the couches. Eminem's "Lose Yourself" pulsed throughout the house, shaking the floor. Oliver and Nick were playing "Call of Duty" on the PlayStation2, Kevin was mixing everything in the kitchen together all in one big bowl and Joe was rapping along to Eminem.

_His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy  
There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti  
He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready  
To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgettin  
What he wrote down, the whole crowd goes so loud  
He opens his mouth, but the words won't come out  
He's choking, how everybody's joking now  
The clock's run out, time's up over, bloah!  
Snap back to reality, Oh there goes gravity  
Oh, there goes Rabbit, he choked  
He's so mad, but he won't give up that  
Easy, no  
He won't have it , he knows his whole back's to these ropes  
It don't matter, he's dope  
He knows that, but he's broke  
He's so stagnant that he knows  
When he goes back to his mobile home, that's when it's  
Back to the lab again yo  
This this whole rhapsody  
He better go capture this moment and hope it don't pass him  
_  
"I got the food!" Kevin announced while walking into the living room with a gigantic bowl and three liters of soda.

Joe collapsed onto the couch, leaning back into the cushioning, "The girls should go shopping more often" he sighed, while taking a liter of soda to chug.

_

* * *

_

"We are so not going out shopping again!" AJ exclaimed as they sat outside the changing rooms in Urban Outfitters, completely and utterly bored. "How long have they been in there now?" Lily sighed. AJ glanced down at her Rolex, "25 minutes"

Aly, AJ, and Lily sat on a couch, stuck in between two racks of clothes, annoyed and drained of energy. "Oh lighten up guys!" Taylor squealed from the racks out in front of them. "How come you are always so cheery?" Aly questioned.

_Look at the stars,  
Look how they shine for you,  
And everything you do,  
Yeah, they were all yellow_

Taylor's face immediately lit up and her eyes shined more than usual; which was weird because it seemed as if they couldn't sparkle anymore than that … but somehow they did.

She reached into her brown bag and pulled out her Sidekick. "Hello?" her angelic voice rang. The three girls leaned forward in their seats to try and hear who was on the other end. Soft, sweet, murmurs could be heard, but nothing else. Taylor smiled at the voice and skipped off towards the stairs that lead to the first floor.

"It's a guy" Aly stated lamely. The two other girls nodded their heads and all three fell back into the couch.

At that moment, Miley and Demi walked out of the dressing rooms; arms linked. "The black dress looked terrible" Demi shook her head frantically, tears brimming her eyes from laughing so hard. "That's definitely true, but why would you choose a neon pink and green dress? You looked like a freaking watermelon!" Miley nearly choked on her words from laughing so hard.

The girls on the couch all rose; wide-eyed.

"Hey!" Demi exclaimed, "Watermelon is juicy and delicious!" she tried to defend herself.

Miley rolled her eyes playfully, "And oranges are tangy and yummy, but you don't see me wearing them!" their laughter drifted off as they skipped down the stairs away to the cash register to pay for their items.

"She's the she-devil" Aly grit her teeth and clenched her jaw.

"I couldn't have said it better myself" AJ agreed.

* * *

**Gahhh, Demi's back. Oh heck ... what's going on now?**

xxEmilyKearsexx


	14. Poker Face

_Can't read my,  
Can't read my  
No he can't read my poker face  
(she's got to love nobody)  
Can't read my  
Can't read my  
No he can't read my poker face  
(she's got to love nobody)_

When the girls arrived back at the house … it was trashed. Candy wrappers tossed carelessly, couch cushions turned over, food crumbs buried the once clean carpet, the kitchen looked like a tornado had once hit it; everything had been damaged. Which left the boys … collapsed on the ground.

Well, Oliver, Nick and Kevin were. Joe was still chugging a soda liter. "JOE! PUT IT DOWN!" Lily screamed, dropping all of her shopping bags on the ground and running to her boyfriend. "I CAN'T!" Joe managed to get out. AJ attempted to walk over to Oliver; it was like walking through a war zone. Stepping over empty soda cans and bags of chips, she finally made it to him. "Oliver" she kicked him; she never was one for peaceful wake up calls.

Oliver immediately rolled over in pain, clutching his stomach. He squinted his eyes, looking up. "AJ!" he breathed out, his voice came out squeakier and higher then normal. She ignored his cry of pain; "How man sodas has Joe had?" He yawned and rolled over, trying to fall back asleep. "I don't know" he yawned once more, "5?"

Taylor winced at the amount, she was afraid to even ask, "And how long have you three been asleep while he's been drinking?"

"What time is it?" Oliver sighed, "4" AJ stated.

"We probably fell asleep around 3" he sighed, curling up into a ball. "Oh shit…" Lily's eyes widened.

* * *

"Well…" Aly started as she made her way up the stairs, "Lily is hosing him downstairs in the bathroom." AJ shook her head disapprovingly at the boys, "How could you let him have that much sugar?"

Kevin put his arms up defensively; "I was dead asleep!"

Nick scoffed, "Oh and I wasn't?" he glanced around the room curiously, "Hey … where's Miley?"

AJ waved it off, "Still out with Demi. Honestly, couldn't you guys have at least hid the soda from him or something?" Nick furrowed his eyebrows, out with Demi?

"She's out with Demi … still?" he asked, trying to be clear. "Yes" AJ stated harshly, "She's out there with Demi, alone. We know. We're still trying to figure it out as well."

Giggles coming form the kitchen could be heard. AJ already knew what was going on. "TAYLOR! When I said clean up the kitchen … I didn't mean stuffing chocolate chips down the sink's drain and trying to clog it!" Taylor walked out of the kitchen with light chocolate smears across her face. "Oh come on!" she exclaimed, balancing on her tip-toes, "Why not? Then we can call a plumber, he'll come and fix it and I can make a new friend!"

Aly shook her head, "Problems, that's what that girl has…"

* * *

Slipping in through the front door, Demi trailed behind her. For the record, she wasn't exactly friends with Demi. She could tell the girls had been confused that day as to why she had been so tight knit with Demi while shopping. They hadn't realized -- Demi was actually a pretty sweet girl. If you just took some time to sit down and talk with her, you'd see that. "What time did they say dinner was?" Demi asked as they walked into Miley's bedroom. "5:30" she answered, placing her bags by the end of the bunk beds. "Perfect!" Demi smiled, "Now we have an hour to lay down by the beach!"

"The beach?" Miley's voice was smile, quiet, questionable.

"Yeah" Demi nodded, "I'll just put my suit on and we can go" she walked over towards her bags and grabbed a black and red bikini along with a white towel before Miley could even object. Miley watched as Demi exited the room. Standing there for a few more moments, Miley finally decided she should head on upstairs to see if anyone else wanted to come with them.

The stairs under her feet creaked. She winced at the sound. As she ascended the stairs she heard the sounds of feet screeching and a vacuum humming. "Where's Taylor with the garbage bag!?" she heard Nick yell. Finally making it to the top, she stepped into the living room. "I don't know, she said she'd get it about five minutes ago" Aly answered him. She watched the scene in front of her, all her friends running around the top floor frantically cleaning the place. It looked as if a bunch of frat boys had come and decided to throw a party here while they were out.

"Has anyone seen Taylor?" Kevin shouted over the sound of the vacuum that AJ was directing across the carpet. A chorus of "no's" sounded. She spotted Nick by the couch, placing the cushions back in place. Quietly making her way towards him, she wrapped her arms around his torso from behind. "Hey" she whispered into his ear softly, causing him to shiver involuntarily.

"Hey" he laughed softly. "Where have you been?" he asked, turning around to face her. "Out" she shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "With Demi?" he arched his left eyebrow. Miley's face flushed at the accusation, she was about to answer, but was cut off by the loud sounds of someone stomping up the stairs.

"Miley!" she heard Demi call her name. Turning around, Miley spotted Demi standing on top of the staircase, the beach towel wrapped around her waist. "Ready?" Demi smiled brightly, making eye contact with the flushed brunette.

"Uh…" she hesitated.

Nick stepped in front of Miley's view of Demi, "Where are you going?" he asked, lifting his hand to caress her cheek. She closed her eyes in pleasure, his warm hand felt so soft against her cheek. "To the beach" she answered with a sigh. He removed his hand from her smooth cheek causing her eyes to snap open in wonder, the loss of skin contact hurt her. "Aren't you going to help make dinner? We're making tacos. You're favorite!" he pushed. Her eyes shot back to Demi who was tapping her foot impatiently, her fingers nails on the hand rail doing the same.

"I-I know" she stuttered, "Demi really wants to go though" her eyes were pleading.

Nick was confused. No _more_ than confused. Completely lost. Since when did she put Demi's needs before hers? "Please stay" he insisted, "I haven't seen you all day…"

She was literally cut in half as Nick looked at her with yearning eyes and Demi with impatient ones.

"Come on Miley" Demi sighed, turning around to walk back down the creaking stairs. "Alright, the grill is set up to fry some peppers!" Oliver announced, walking back in through the screen door from out on the deck. Lily ran up the stairs with a clean, refreshed looking Joe following behind. "I call cheese duty!" Joe announced, running for the kitchen. Miley watched everyone roll their eyes and laugh at his announcement. "I've got the garbage bag!" Taylor shouted, coming out of the bathroom. "Tay, you've been gone for about ten minutes. What the hell took you so long?" Aly laughed.

Taylor skipped into the kitchen, waving the garbage can through the air, "Have you ever washed your hands 15 times just because you wanted the soap to last forever?" she questioned. Joe was the only one who nodded his head, but as he looked around the room viewing the confused faces, he tried to cover it up by shaking his head instead. "Oh" she shugged her shoulders, "Never mind then…"

Miley chuckled at one of her best friends remarks. She was so carefree that sometimes it turned Miley's love for her into envy of her freedom. "MILEY!" Demi finally shouted for the last time from downstairs. "I … I have to go" she winced. Nick watched as she bounded for the stairs. He sighed, this whole Demi coming to visit thing … probably wasn't the greatest idea.

* * *

It had been 2 hours since the last time Nick had heard from Miley. She had completely skipped out on dinner with Demi, something very unlike her. Everyone was sitting around the dining room table, waiting for Joe to deal the cards. It was poker time. Miley would _never_ miss this. She loved to see how competitive Lily and Oliver got with each other.

"Let's deal 'em out" Joe declared. "Wait…" Nick interrupted. Lily bit her lip, turning to the confused boy, "She's not coming Nick… just forget about it for now."

This was so unlike Miley. What was going on?

* * *

**I'm trying to define these characters personalities. Have you noticed certain things about Lily? Taylor? AJ? Joe? Let me know in your review. I'm also going to try and focus in on Niley more because ... well .. why not??? Lol. Review please, please, please!**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	15. The Middle

_Don't wanna be nowhere  
But something's makin' me go there  
Somewhere in the middle with you_

"My feet are killing me" Miley's hand glided it's way to the back of her sore heel. She and Demi were walking the boardwalk licking ice cream cones, holding their flip flops in their other hands. "It was your idea to stop and get ice cream" Demi shrugged her shoulders. Miley rolled her eyes playfully, "Yeah, but what I meant was with everyone. I haven't seen them all day!"

Demi rolled her eyes, "Don't be such a worrier. Just focus on that amazing chocolate cone you have in your hands right now!" Demi laughed.

Miley glanced down at the creamy goodness. It was dripping down the cone and getting onto her fingers, making them sticky. She mentally pouted, Nick would have picked out coffee ice cream for her, but Demi insisted on buying them both chocolate. "Thanks by the way" Miley smiled politely, "The ice cream really is delicious"

"No problem" Demi insisted, "Hey … want to go on the ferris wheel down by the pier?" she asked hopefully, her eyes lighting up like a little kid's did on Christmas morning. "Sure" she smiled. She mentally cursed herself, why could she never say no?

* * *

10 PM.

That was the time. Miley had left the house five and half hours ago. She wasn't answering her phone, answering his text messages, returning his voicemails. Nick felt like smashing his phone against the wall.

Kevin sat on the couch next to Aly as they watched "Titanic", it had been Taylor's choice to watch it – she was the only one really paying attention to. Her face was practically pressed up against the TV screen. "He looks like he's about to explode" Kevin whispered into Aly's ear, causing her to jump. "Oh ... uh ... who?" she asked. Kevin rolled his eyes; "Nick"

Aly broke her gaze away from AJ and Oliver long enough to sneak a peak at Nick who was biting his lip on the long couch in between Joe and Lily, continuously looking at the clock on his cell phone. "Yeah" Aly quickly agreed, bringing her focus back on her sister and her boyfriend. After all this time – the feeling was still there. She was still jealous of AJ. No, she didn't show it. She loved her sister too much to put her in that position so instead, she suffered in silence.

"Goodbye!" Leonardo DiCaprio playing Jack exclaimed, waving to the large crowd. "You know somebody?" his best fried Fabrizio asked. Jack shook his head, "Of course not! That's the point! Goodbye, I'll miss you!" he continued turning back to the crowd. Farbrizio shrugged his shoulders and joined in, "Goodbye! I'm gonna never forget you!"

Joe rose his hand at a fast speed, "I call being Fabrizio!" he exclaimed as if someone was going to shout the exact same thing at the exact same time as him. Lily squinted her eyes in confusion, "But- but … you die" she pointed out. Joe's eyes searched the room like the answers were buried there somewhere, "Your point?" Lily shook her head, "Whatever you want Joe…"

Taylor spun around in her seat, "If he gets to be Fabrizio, then I get to be Mr. Andrews!"

The room fell silent as everyone stared at the joyful blonde, "Taylor …" AJ started; "Mr. Andrews is a guy…" she spoke slowly as if she were talking to a toddler.

Taylor's facial expression didn't change, "So? He's smart, handsome and witty. I want to be him … gosh, sexist" she scoffed, turning around to face the TV again while crossing her arms across her chest. AJ's wide eyes blinked a couple times, "Can I be…" Oliver started. "NO!" everyone screamed at him in unison.

Nick's phone began to buzz causing him to jump out of his seat. A smile immediately crossed his face, "Finally!" he exclaimed. He quickly jogged over towards the glass door, swinging it open and walking out onto the deck.

* * *

Miley held the phone to her ear, waiting for the boy to pick up. She snuck a glance over towards where Demi was buying cotton candy. She wanted to go home so badly. How could she refuse Demi though? She was their guest and had only been ever so kind to her and them since she had arrived. "Hello?" the overly excited teenage boy answered on the other line. "Hi" she whispered. If Demi saw her trying to communicate with the others she'd get pissed. That's something Miley learned about Demi since she had gotten there that morning – she didn't exactly enjoy the others company as much as Miley's.

Odd.

"Miley Ray… where the freak have you been?" he practically shouted into the phone, "I've been calling and calling, I was going to practically send out a search party! Joe had the guys with the hound dogs on speed dial ready!" She wanted to laugh at his small joke, but instead winced. "I know, I know" she sighed, "Demi's been keeping me out all day. After the beach she insisted on stopping by Clam Bar and then going to the pier. I don't know how it got to be this late…"

Back at the beach house Nick closed his eyes reflexively, took a deep breath and then looked out over into the horizon to see the beach down the street. "It's not your fault" he insisted, "Just … come home soon?"

"I want to come home" she nodded, "I'll be back soon"

"I love you" his voice sounded strange; she noted. "I love you too" it was more of a statement to her.

Hanging up the phone, she turned around to find Demi eating the cotton candy right in front of her. "Time to head back?" she asked. Miley was scared to even ask how much she heard of that conversation, "Uh, yeah; time to head back."

* * *

"I've noticed something" Joe stated as he walked into the kitchen where Nick was sitting on the counter, eating a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios. Everyone else had gone to bed; it was just Joe and Nick up now. Nick was waiting up for Miley while Joe had wanted to grab a water bottle from the refrigerator. "What's that Joe?" Nick asked tiredly, his mouth full of cereal. Joe reached into the refrigerator, pulling out the bottle. He closed the door and unscrewed the cap to take a sip of the liquid. Wiping the drops of water from his lips he turned to Nick, "You're not much fun when Miley's not here"

"I was just worried, that's all" he shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, but when Lily's gone … my attitude doesn't change. I'm fine … I know I can trust her out there on her own" Joe reasoned.

Nick shook his head; setting the bowl down on the counter beside him, "Miley I can trust…" he hopped down from the counter and turned to the sink to wash the bowl out, "It's Demi I can't…"

The sound of the front door opening caused Nick and Joe to turn their heads towards the stairs. "Well, at least you can trust Demi to bring Miley home safely" Joe shrugged his shoulders. Nick pushed past him and made his way for the stairs, "Yeah, only six hours late though" he called back over his shoulder as he ran down the steps. Finally making it to the opening he smiled once he saw the tired brunette. Her back was turned to him as she set her purse down on the round table centered in the middle of the foyer. Demi walked through the door seconds after with a weird glint in her eyes.

"Hey, where am I sleeping tonight?" she asked curiously, Nick didn't make his presence known. Miley bit her lip, something she did when she was nervous, confused or making a tough decision. "Uh… I guess you could take my bed for the night" she shrugged her heavy shoulders. "Oh I couldn't put you out like that!" Demi insisted. Nick could hear the forced sympathy laced through her voice. Miley didn't catch on, she just closed her heavy eyes and shook her head, "No, I insist … I'll sleep on the couch"

That's when Nick decided to make his presence known, "You can sleep with me, Mi" he offered. She turned her head at the new voice entering this conversation. Her smile was soft, drowsy, "Thanks"

"Miley, would you mind grabbing some extra blankets for me? It seems awfully chilly in the house" Demi asked. Miley nodded her head and was about to walk off towards the closet, but Nick caught her elbow and stopped her, "I'll get those for you Demi" he offered, however his eyes didn't leave Miley's soft brown ones. They were usually so dark and compassionate, but all Nick saw was a light creamy color – she looked completely drained. Demi must have run her battery low throughout the day. "Slip into a pair of my sweats, I'll be in there with you in a couple minutes" he pressed a light kiss to her forehead. She nodded slowly, offering him a sweet smile before turning on her heel and entering his bedroom.

* * *

Aly rolled onto her side, now coming face to face with AJ, "AJ" she whispered. Her sister mumbled something in her sleep. "AJ" she tried again, this time tapping her forehead. AJ's eyes slowly fluttered open, setting her eyesight on Aly; she sighed and pulled the covers up to her chin, "What is it Al?" her groggy voice asked.

"What's …" Aly hesitated, "What's gonna happen with you and Ollie when we go back to recording and he goes on the tour with Miley?" she asked curiously.

AJ rolled over onto her side to look over at the clock on the small table next to her, "Why are you asking me this … now?" Aly rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling, "I don't know, it was just on my mind"

AJ turned her head to look at her sister. The moon's light cascaded onto her face, causing a light blue glow to light up her features. Curious, worried eyes were what Aly had … something AJ thought wasn't necessary. "We'll see what happens. But, Al ... that's something you don't have to worry about. The hurt on Aly's face disappeared as quickly as it came, being replaced by a sweet smile. "I know I was just worried about you" she lied.

Of course AJ didn't know that, that was the _only_ thing Aly had to worry about.

* * *

_"Hey it's Selena. I'm not here right now. Leave a message after the beep … or call back later … or you could just text message me because I'd probably answer that"_ he soft giggle sounded through the phone's speakers, _"You know what? Just leave me a message and I'll call you back as soon as I can. Yeah ... that works"_Kevin sighed, again he got her voicemail. Beep.

"Hey Selena, its Kevin. Just checking in …" he hesitated. He sat on his king size bed, staring out onto his mini-porch. The sliding door was open, letting a cool breeze enter his room. "I haven't spoken to you in a couple days. Call me?" he was about to press end when he decided to add, "I really miss you…" then … he pressed end.

He really did miss Selena. Sometimes so much that he would even think about booking a plane ticket back home to Malibu. But, then he would realize how silly of an idea that was seeing as he was the oldest one there and he needed to keep an eye on everyone. Sure, Aly was old enough to, just not responsible enough.

What he would give just to have Selena lying next to him right now. He didn't even have to be touching her, holding her. Her presence would be enough.

* * *

He tossed the blankets on Miley's bed. "There you go" he sighed as he began to make his way for the door. "Wait!" Demi whispered since Lily and Taylor were sleeping in the same room. Nick turned around, "What?" he dragged out a long groan. He didn't find the need to be polite with her. "Do you think you could grab me an extra pillow?"

Nick squeezed his eyes shut and balled his hands into fists. "No Demi" he stated, "I _can't_ get you an extra pillow…"

She bit her lip which frustrated Nick. It wasn't nearly as cute as when Miley did it. "Why not?" she pouted – something seemed off with her behavior, was that a twinge of flirtyness in her voice?

"Because … I have to do something more important than take care of you…" he walked out of the room, crossed the hallway and slipped into the room quietly. Miley lay on his bed, curled up in a ball. She slowly looked up at him, their eyes connecting. "Tired?" he whispered. He took long, quick strides over towards the bed. Climbing in next to her. "I'm fine" she lied. He rolled his eyes at her attempt to try and hide the yawn that was trying to tear it's way out of her mouth.

"Sing you to sleep?" he offered, wrapping his arms around her torso and nuzzling his nose into her vanilla-honey scented neck. "Sing me to sleep" she agreed.

* * *

Demi grumbled meaningless nothings under her breath as she climbed up the ladder to Miley's bed. Crawling under the covers, she pulled out her cell phone from her jean pocket. Dialing a familiar number, she brought the phone to her ear. It rang a couple times before the person picked up. Music burst through the speakers and people whistling, yelling and laughing tickled her ear. "HELLO?" the person shouted over the loud noise. "Hey" she whispered, "Where are you?" she asked curiously. "Hello!?" the person repeated. "Jake … Jake it's me" she tried to tell him. "Who is this? I'm sorry, I can't hear you!" he shouted, "Jess, Jess, get off me. I'm trying to talk to someone on the phone!" he exclaimed.

She hung up the phone disgusted, if Jake wasn't going to listen to what she had to say, she'd find someone who would.

* * *

**I had a snow day today which led to an extra long chapter for you guys :) Yay! I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter right now, but I guess I'll make up my mind when I read your reviews!**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	16. Hide & Seek

_All those years  
They were here first  
Oily marks appear on walls  
Where pleasure moments hung before  
The takeover  
The sweeping insensitivity of this still life  
Hide and Seek  
Trains and sewing machines (you won't catch me around here)  
Blood and Tears  
They were here first  
Hmm, what'd you say, mmm, that you only meant well?  
Well, of course you did.  
Hmm, what'd you say? mmm, that it's all for the best?  
Of course it is.  
Hmm, what'd you say? mmm, that it's just what we need  
You decided this?  
Hmm, what'd you say, mmm, what did she say?_

Mornings were never easy. Open your tired eyes, rub the sleep away, stretch your aching muscles, pull yourself out from underneath the cozy covers and try and make yourself presentable. They were especially hard on the days where the sun streamed through your blinds and all you wanted to do was stand in the rays of the sunshine, but you just couldn't pull yourself to do it.

"You get up first" Lily groaned.

"No, you" Taylor argued.

Both lay in their beds, not being able to move from their current positions. Taylor wiggled her toes that were hanging off the side of the single bed with the rest of her right leg, as her face stayed hidden in her pillow.

"You're closer to the door" Lily pointed out as she rolled onto her side to get a quick glance at the clock. 9 AM.

"Your point?" Taylor mumbled.

"They started breakfast though and I need to know what we're eating. If it's those blueberry pancakes again, I'm not going anywhere near Kevin. He gets too protective" Lily explained.

Taylor giggled innocently, "So you're basically sacrificing me just to see what's for breakfast?" Lily rolled her eyes, "Of course not Taylor, I'm just …" she paused, "Ok, you caught me."

Taylor playfully narrowed her eyes at the girl sleeping across the room from her. Silence fell over the two as Taylor studied her red nails that rested next to her head on the pillow and Lily poked the springs of the top bunk above her with her foot lazily. "You go" Lily provoked Taylor.

"I'll go!" a voice finally exclaimed as motion stirred from above Lily. Taylor could have sworn she experienced whiplash as her neck quickly snapped into the direction of the top bunk. Demi annoyingly climbed down the small ladder that led to the solid ground. "You will?" Lily eyed her. Demi sighed, "Let's just hope they're chocolate chips this morning and not blueberries" she slipped on her UGG chestnut slippers and swiftly made her way for the door. She turned around for a moment with a playful expression written across her face, "Pray for me" she joked before closing the door behind her.

Lily arched her left eyebrow, staring at Taylor, questioning Demi's actions. "Eh" Taylor shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, "All I know is that my stomach is not happy right now so Demi has to come back and give us the thumbs up or I'll be eating my nails for breakfast." Lily threw her a disgusted look, "Hey!" Taylor pointed her already semi-chewed red nail at Lily, "Be grateful that I'll be eating mine … and not yours"

* * *

AJ flipped the pancake on the sizzling pan quickly before lowering the burner on the stove. She sighed as she turned around to face Kevin, hovering above her with his plate. "Chocolate chips this morning, sorry buddy" she pouted.

Kevin's face dropped, "I should have known" he sighed, lowering his plate sadly and walking back to the kitchen counter where he took a seat on a free stool in between Joe and Demi. Joe flipped the syrup bottle upside down, drowning his fluffy pancakes in sugary goodness. Demi laughed slightly before gulping down her orange juice, "So what's up with you and blueberries Kevin?" Demi asked curiously.

_Why was she acting so … normal? _Joe thought to himself.

Kevin rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "Uh, they're …" he paused; "They're Selena's favorite" he blushed. Demi winced at the thought of Selena; they hadn't left on good terms. "How is she?" she asked out of curiosity. Joe bit his tongue accidentally, missing the fork completely, "Ah, shit!" he exclaimed, jumping out his seat reflexively. He immediately wandered onto the other side of the counter towards the stove, waving his hands, trying to seize the pain. "She's fine" Kevin shrugged, "I haven't really talked to her lately"

"Hey!" AJ exclaimed, waving the spatula at him, "Stop fooling around! You're gonna get hurt!" Joe ignored her.

Demi nodded her head solemnly, "Well, are you going to see her soon?" Kevin's eyes drifted away from his empty plate and towards the questioning brunette.

Joe misplaced his footing, stepping on his big toe in the process. "Are wou kwidding me?" he exclaimed, his tongue sticking out of his mouth. "Joe! Quit it!" AJ growled.

Kevin didn't answer at first; he just stared at her curiously. Demi reminded him of Selena in some ways, they both had similar mannerisms. When Demi was trying to be patient, she played with her earring hanging off of her earlobe, just like Selena did. When Selena was curious, her eyes clouded over with anticipation, just like Demi's were doing right now and when Selena needed to figure something out, her right leg would shake impatiently; just like Demi's. He smiled to himself.

Finally knocking into AJ, both Joe and the cooking gal fell to the floor. "Joseph!" she exclaimed, rubbing her butt painfully. "Wow, three injuries in less than two minutes … a new record!" Joe sang happily.

"I'm actually flying out to see her tonight" Kevin announced. The two teenagers resting on the floor shot up in surprise, "WHAT!?" they shouted in unison.

* * *

"141 sheep, 142 sheep, 143 sheep-" Taylor listed off tiredly, the blankets on her bed pushed towards the bottom and her thin body sprawled out across the mattress. "No matter how many sheep you count, it's not gonna stop the hunger" Lily sighed.

Taylor shot up from her bed, causing Lily to shoot up as well in surprise; banging her head on the wooden frame of the bed. "Damnet" Lily cursed, rubbing her forehead harshly. "I'm going up" Taylor declared. "What?" Lily's eyes widened, "Why?"

"Because I'm hungry!" Taylor groaned. She placed her feet firmly on the ground, grabbed her old baseball sweatshirt off the end of the bed and slipped it over her head, "You coming?" she asked Lily. Lily sighed mentally, into the jungle she went.

* * *

"As the sun rises and the moon lays to rest"

Miley could hear words being formed, but she still wanted to stay safe in her dreamland.

"Come my sweet Miley, it's time to give them your best"

She smiled peacefully in her sleep. Her mother's voice soothing her … except, it wasn't her mother's voice.

"The stars have faded and the winds have slowed"

Who's was it?

"Where's that bright smile we all love and know?"

Stirring in her sleep, she began to turn away from a pair of … arms? Consciousness was beginning to come back to her.

"The sun is disappearing my beautiful; the night will never declare they won"

Sighing, she snuggled closer to the warmth that was holding her.

"Open those big blue eyes and cue the sun…"

She gave in and opened her eyes, happy to see a curly haired boy staring down at her. "Good morning" he smiled, kissing her forehead gently. She closed her eyes in pure bliss. His arms were wrapped around her torso while her arms wrapped around his. Her eyes fluttered open once more, "Good morning"

Oh yes; it was a good morning indeed.

* * *

Aly had been lying in bed for about a half hour now, just staring at the white ceiling, hiding under her covers. Johnny Cash could be heard softly in the background, singing his oh so famous single "Walk the Line." A soft knock on the door caused Aly's eyes to avert its previous spot and direct towards the door. "Come in" she stated. Moments later, brown shaggy hair could be seen bouncing its way into the room. "Yo" Oliver greeted her before flinging his body onto the bed carelessly. The temperature rose about 30 degrees in the room, at least that's what it felt like to Aly.

"Hey" she smiled, sitting up in the bed, leaning her back against the headboard. "So … I need your help" Oliver came out right away. Aly eyed him, "Well that was forward" she laughed lightly. "I'm in serious need of some sisterly opinion"

Aly winced at the term. "Advice?" she questioned. He nodded his head and moved towards AJ's side of the bed, climbing under the covers and leaning back into AJ's pillow. Aly stiffened, he was not helping.

She heard Oliver quietly laugh to himself. "What?" she giggled along with him. He shook his head like it was an inside joke she wouldn't understand, "It's just…" he paused, "the pillow … it smells like her" he smiled sweetly to himself.

Crap. She was screwed. No way in hell would Oliver ever, _ever_ leave AJ. "So what's the advice you need?" Aly attempted to change the subject. "Oh, right!" Oliver mentally cursed himself for getting off topic. "I was thinking about taking AJ horseback riding tonight on the beach, because, well you know how she loves horses and I got this friend of mine who can hook us up with these two gnarly horses. I mean, dude … they are freaking sweet! I just needed to know if you thought that would blow her away because I really need to make it up to her after the whole Becca slip up…"

Aly couldn't believe it. He talked like AJ, knew everything she loved, he practically worshipped her … and what did Aly have? Nada, nothing, zilch. That's what she had.

She had to think about this for a moment, should she or should she not…?

Oliver looked at her with hopeful eyes. Yup, she should.

"Screw the horses" she shook her head, "You have to go _all_ out." Oliver knitted his eyebrows together, "She wouldn't like the horses?" he asked confused. Aly shook her head, "She's actually afraid of them. Trust me, childhood experiences that should never be relived" she laughed stuffily, trying to make it seem as if she were having a flashback. "Um, alright" Oliver sighed, frustrated now that he didn't have anything, "What should I do then?"

She smiled sweetly; she had a few ideas…

* * *

"You're going to visit her and you didn't think to tell us this?" AJ narrowed her eyes at the oldest Jonas boy. "I just told you!" Kevin argued. "Well, when did you decide on this?" Joe piped in.

AJ, Joe, Taylor and Lily all crowded around the kitchen counter where Kevin and Demi sat. Demi watched happily, she was always in the mood for a little drama, it brightened her day.

"I kind of just … decided on it right now" he shrugged his shoulders while getting up from his stool and walking over toward the hot pan full of pancakes.

The four crowded around the counter, turned and watched him intently. "You just decided this?" Lily gaped, "What the hell Kev!?"

"Way to go K2!" Taylor exclaimed happily, skipping over to him and raising her hand, waiting for a high five from him. Lily and AJ sent her a confused look as to say 'what the hell are you doing?'

"What?" Taylor asked innocently, "He's finally making an irrational decision, for _once_ in his life. It's a spur of the moment thing. It's just nice to not be the only one doing it around here!"

"Well, are you going to invite us or not?" Joe arched his left eyebrow at his older brother. "Excuse me?" Kevin furrowed his eyebrows. Joe rolled his eyes, "You had to have guessed that if you were leaving, we were all coming with you."

* * *

**I am a terrible updater. I know, I know. No need to yell. Gosh! Ha. Actually all this reminding me to update helped. So thank you readers for doing so! The vacation ending so soon? Where's everyone going? Off to SelGomezland? Well, good luck with that people...**

**P.S. the song for this chapter is called "Hide and Seek" by: Imogen Heap. I highly recommend taking a listen to it. I'm completely obsessed with it right now.**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	17. California

_On the stereo  
Listen as we go  
Nothing's gonna stop me now  
California here we come  
Right back where we started from _

"Well…" Kevin sighed, "That's the last of them." Joe tossed the last suitcase into the back of the van, tiredly. "Thank god" Joe wiped the invisible perspiration off the tip of his brow.

"Hey" Demi piped up, "Thanks for letting me join you guys on the ride back. I really need to make it up to her" she smiled softly. "No trouble at all" Oliver shook his messy hair slowly as he dragged himself into the van. "Whoever's idea it was to leave at 5 AM…" AJ started as she scratched her messy bun of hair and yawned, "Dead."

Miley winced at the thought; she was not letting AJ know it was her. "We'll blame it on Joe" Nick whispered into her ear. Miley smiled, relieved. You could always count on Joe in these sticky situations. Joe brushed past the couple, heading for the sliding van door, "I am not getting dragged into this" he muttered under his breath, wanting them to hear him. The two laughed out of embarrassment.

"Goodbye beach" Taylor frowned as she stood at the end of the driveway, staring down the long paved road, looking at the early rising sun above the crystal blue water. She heard someone whistle then yell, "Taylor, time to go!" she turned her head to see Demi waving her over. Reluctantly, she picked up her light blue, Vera Bradley backpack and swung it over her shoulder, walking back down the driveway toward the house and van. "You guys really don't want to stay for breakfast?" Taylor pouted, "Bagels? Pancakes?"

"Ah, the beauty of diners" AJ sighed from inside the van. She sat squished in between Oliver and Demi. "Come on Taylor, get in!" Miley called from the back row where she sat with Nick. Taylor sighed once more before hopping into the van and sliding the heavy door shut. She really didn't want to drive back to California. If they did, that meant she would have to go back to work. She loved work, don't get her wrong. Creating music was something so important to her, that without it she'd feel like she had been placed on the moon, completely out of place and far away from home. However, work meant being away in New York for a good amount of time, then traveling across the country for a little while; away from everyone.

The roar of the engine erupted causing Aly's sleepy eyes to open. She sat in the front seat, once again next to Kevin. She had failed miserably in the attempt to pull Oliver away from AJ. At first, it bothered her that she was doing this to her sister; her true best friend. Then it got easier and easier as time passed by. Now, the guilt was setting back into her stomach.

Karma … was a bitch.

Kevin rolled down his window and looked out the side view mirror as he pulled out of the driveway. "Where are we stopping for dinner?" Lily asked curiously as she rested her head and small hand on Joe's chest who was seated in between her and Taylor. "Oh, and what time do you think we'll get bathroom breaks?" Oliver added. Kevin rolled his eyes as he swerved around the dead end and started driving down the large hill that led to the main road. "WAIT!" Joe cried out. Everyone except Kevin shifted in their seats to look at Joe. "What?" Nick's eyes widened, afraid something was wrong. "I have to go to the bathroom" Joe declared.

The driver narrowed his eyes, frustrated. "_This_ is why I wanted to go back alone, on an airplane" he muttered under his breath.

* * *

_Lookin' so innocent  
I might believe you if I didn't know  
Could'a loved you all my life__  
If you hadn't left me waiting in the cold  
_  
"Oh god guys. Really, stop. Please … please stop!" Taylor begged as Joe, Lily and Miley belted out the lyrics to Taylor's CD. "Don't be ashamed!" Miley smacked Taylor's head from the seat behind, "Sing! Come on … it's your voice!" Miley rolled her eyes. Taylor shook her head, "I'm not in the mood…"

The music came to a halt with one touch of a finger … Aly's just as Kevin hit his brakes. Everyone turned in their seats, wide-eyed. "Excuse me … can you repeat that?" Nick asked, flabbergasted. Taylor rolled her eyes, "I'm not in the mood"

Demi leaned in closely to Oliver, "Why are we all acting surprised?" she whispered out of the side of her mouth, trying to copy the faces of the rest of the friends to fit in. "It's Taylor!" he whispered back to her. "Oh" she simply nodded her head, acting as if that meant something.

"I'm just tired, my stomach hurts, my head is pounding and all I want to do is turn around and crawl back into my bed at the beach house" she explained. Joe, sitting next to the complaining blonde, brought the back of his hand to her forehead. "Yup, she's got a fever" he nodded his head. Everyone let out a sigh of relief and returned to their previous conversations.

Aly pressed the play button on the CD player and Taylor's voice rang throughout the car once again, causing her to groan in pain and annoyance.

_And you got your share of secrets  
And I'm tired of being last to know  
And now you're asking me to listen  
Cuz its worked each time before_

_Wasn't anyone going to help Taylor?_Demi asked herself. As if they could read her thoughts, Miley threw a bottle of Advil at Taylor's head causing her to wince in pain while Nick dove under the seat to grab a blanket and pillow and gently handed them off to Taylor. She accepted them graciously. It seemed as if Nick and Miley were the caretakers of the group. At least, that's what Demi noticed in her small amount of time shared with them. They always looked out for the rest of their friends. They rarely fought, which in a weird way ticked Demi off. They were always so smitten around each other, which also annoyed Demi … and they didn't even have to talk to each other to communicate … another thing that pissed her off.

Why? Why were these things annoying her? Normally, the answer would be because she had a crush on Nick or something of that sort. However, she knew that wasn't the reason.

The one and only reason: Jake Ryan.

Had he ever taken care of her when she was sick? No. Well, she was never sick when they were together so … she'd let him slide on that one. Did they ever go on dates and hold hands? Nope. Ok, so they had very busy schedules and could never really fit anytime for those things in so that didn't really count either. Where were the little gifts though, the cute surprises that she was supposed to write about in her diary? So … yeah, having him try to ruin Hannah Montana's career just to help hers was kind of sweet.

Demi smiled to herself, but then the smile faded.

However, that was all in the past now; all the lying and games. That was all done. If so, then why did she crave to ruin something for someone?

Ah, she needed to pop a few of those Advil's.

* * *

McDonald's.

Definition: home for everything yummy in life.

"Yes, I'll have … 10 happy meals, 4 diet cokes, 2 cream sodas, 2 sprites, 1 chocolate frosty…" Kevin began to order.

"Vanilla" Oliver coughed. Kevin rolled his eyes, "_Vanilla_ frosty and a water please" Kevin finished.

"That'll be 32 dollars and 89 cents. Please drive up to the window." Kevin followed the orders, pressing his foot down onto the gas pedal gently and drove up to the window. The employee had their back turned away from him, collecting the food from other employees. "A happy meal always comes with a toy Derrick!" the girl exclaimed, "You've been working here for two years and you still don't know that?" she joked. Turning around with a few of their items in her hands, her mouth fell open. Kevin and Aly couldn't help, but burst into laughter; Lizzie.

"You guys!" she exclaimed, dropping their food onto the counter. "You guys are here… again!" her eyes were wide with excitement. Kevin waved awkwardly, "Lizzie, right? How are you?" he laughed softly. "Now that you're here, amazing!" her heart sped at a fast pace. "My day has been terrible. Honest to god, terrible! Now that you guys are here…" she paused and released a sigh of relief, "I feel so much better!" She began to hand him some of the items, as she handed them off, she rambled on and on; "My little brother, Nicholas, woke me up at six today saying my mom misread the news and there was no snow day today and there really was school even though there was a blizzard going on outside, so I had to get dressed within five minutes or I'd miss my bus. So I stand outside my house for about 15 minutes, thinking for sure that I missed my bus and do you know what my brother was doing while this was all happening?" Lizzie questioned Kevin.

Kevin grabbed the vanilla frosty from her hand, "No, what?" he politely asked while trying to hurry up the pace of Lizzie. "Filming me!" she shouted, "He was filming me!"

"Filthy little brat" she muttered under her breath, "Anyways…" her eyes lit up once again, "Once I found him standing in the front doorway, looking all smug in his cozy pajamas and camera in hand, I flipped. You don't like me when I flip, Kevin. You really don't" she shook her head as she passed him another happy meal. He quickly swiped the food from her hands, not wanting to find out the end of this story. "Long story, short, my brother has the flu from standing outside in the snow for four hours in his underwear until I finally allowed him back inside to make me some hot chocolate. But, now that you guys are here, I'm feeling much better!" she smiled happily. The ten kids in the car drew silent as she handed them back their change, Joe stuck his head out the back window, "What did your mom say when she found out?" he asked, extremely interested. Lizzie smiled widely, not everyday did you get Joe Jonas asking you what your punishment was for giving your little brother the flu.

"She doesn't know yet!" she responded. Joe's eyes grew wide, "She doesn't know!?" he exclaimed, "Well, what are you going to do when she does find out?" half his body was practically sticking out the car window now; he was getting a little too interested. "I don't know, but I'm thinking I won't be able to attend the school prom this Saturday. Which isn't terrible since I don't have a date anyways."

"What?" Joe exclaimed, "Why don't you have a date?" he furrowed his eyebrows. "I think it's time to go Joe" Lily tried to pull him back into the car, "Cars behind us are honking!"

Joe turned his head to see about twelve cars waiting behind them, flashing their lights and beeping their horns. "But, she was just getting to the good part" he whined. AJ, Oliver, Miley and Nick all reached over their seats and pulled on Joe's limbs to bring him back into the car. Kevin hit the gas, trying to escape the madness, "Bye Lizzie!" Joe reached back over Taylor to stick his hand out the window. Lizzie stuck her head out the window as well smiling like a love struck teen.

Joe finally sat down in his seat and sighed, "Nice girl, nice girl"

* * *

**This song is by Phantom Planet and is amazing. I never get tired of it. I don't live in California, but this song makes me crave to live there. Sunshine nearly 24/7? Hallelujah. Anything interesting about this chapter? I just HAD to bring Lizzie back. Gahh, the rambler. Nice girl, nice girl.**

**xxEmilyKearsexx**


	18. How Much It Hurts

_Oh, I'm wrong  
I'm wrong again  
But not because of where I stand but where I've been  
And it burns  
Oh, you know it burns like hell  
To know there's nothing I can do but wish you well  
If you're listening this is how much it hurts  
If you're listening this is how much it hurts  
If you're listening this is how much it hurts  
If you're listening this is how much it hurts__  
_

Selena rushed out of her bedroom, banging into a wall while trying to slip on her brown Frye boots, tucking them into her dark skinny jeans. After succeeding, she rubbed her now bruised arm, walking down the hallway leading to her kitchen. "Morning" she greeted her dad as she walked into the room, immediately going for the coffee that was still hot on the counter. "Morning" he muttered, resting his head on the counter. Selena frowned at her father's action; he was completely wiped; same as her. The only difference between the two's exhaustion was that she didn't like to display it.

"What time are we picking Mom up?" she asked curiously, pouring herself a cup of regular coffee with her back turned to her father. Mr. Gomez picked his head up from the table and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, he pushed up his dress shirt's sleeve to look at his watch; "In about two hours, but I need to stop at Stop & Shop to buy some groceries before hand, get the car washed and stop by Demi's house to pick up that Scrabble we left there a few months ago at game night." Selena winced at the thought of their families old game nights, those no longer occurred. "Ok" she smiled kindly before taking a sip out of her mug.

Pushing the chair back, her father got up from the table and brought his empty plate to the sink. "What are your plans for the day?" he asked while turning the faucet on to rinse the plate off. "I don't know" Selena shrugged her shoulders, completely lying, "I should probably stop by the Stewarts house to water their plants seeing as Jackson is with their Mama and Robby Ray is staying at Mrs. Truscott's house this weekend, helping her redecorate their dining room."

Mr. Gomez turned his head to look at his daughter who had her back leaning against the counter, staring off into space. "Ok" he smiled tiredly. "Want me to pick you up from there on my way back from Demi's?" he offered. Selena's heart sped up a few paces, "No thanks. I'm fine. I think it'll be better if I … walk" she lied, once again, "The hospital is only a mile away and I need some exercise."

He decided not to push; "Alright" Mr. Gomez set the dish down at the bottom of the sink and then dried his hands off with a paper towel. "Well, I better get a head start on my day" he sighed, walking away from the sink and towards the hallway. He stopped so half his body still stood in the kitchen while the other in the hallway, 'You'll be alright?" his eyes were glistening with care while the bags under his eyes showed compassion. She felt tiny shades of glass sprinkle over her heart, tearing and slicing any part of the muscle not protected, "Yup" her smile was forced, mechanic. He simply smiled and turned his back to her to start his day.

Once she heard the click of the front door, her brain began to function once again. The past few days it had been the same, she had said the same phrases to many people like "I'm fine" and "Thank you very much for your concern", she had heard the ever so famous line "She'll be fine. Everything will be ok. It'll work itself out" so many times that it made her want to break something; it couldn't work itself out, sometimes you needed to do things your way, intercept fate and fool around with destiny, throwing them off track. But, sometimes … you really can't help what happens in life, it just … happens.

* * *

"It's ringing" Miley stated as she kept the phone pressed to her ear. Aly turned the steering wheel to the left as they made their way down the streets in Malibu. Kevin now sat in the passenger seat, staring at Miley anxiously as she called Mr. Gomez's cell phone. "What if he doesn't pick up?" Lily piped up, "What if they're-"

Lily was cut off by Miley's index finger slicing through the thick air. "Hi Mr. Gomez" she reflexively smiled into the phone, "It's Miley … I'm fine, how are you? … that's nice to hear. Is Selena there with you?" Miley asked politely as the entire car stared at her; including Aly who watched in the rear view mirror. "Oh, at the house? … Yeah, we tried to call. She didn't answer." Mumbles could be heard from the receiver, "Mhmm, that's just like her" Miley nodded, "Don't worry, we'll drive by the house and check up on her" she smiled, "Alright. Take care Mr. Gomez …" she paused, "Let Mrs. Gomez know we're all here just … well, tell her we're here" Miley closed her eyes tightly, not knowing what else to say. A quick 'Alright' was heard then Miley quickly snapped her phone shut.

Sucking in a deep breath, she lent her head back against the head rest. A minute later, she looked up to still see her friends staring at her in anticipation, "Well?" Kevin asked impatiently. Miley shook her head, pulling herself out of her selfish daze, "She's at her house."

And then … Aly hit the gas pedal.

* * *

Her breath was short, the sun was beating down on her small, sweaty body, her eyes seemed dark, cold. Compared to the weather outside, her eyes looked like Antarctica … on a good day. She pushed her long legs until they felt numb; just the way she wanted them. Pressure was building in her chest as her bare feet hit the hot, concrete. Each stride she took brought her closer and closer to giving up and falling to her knees. However, her eyes were locked on a target. She was determined. No longer weak. Time did that to people. Even if it was short … time affected you in every way possible.

Loose strands of hair stuck to her clammy forehead. Shallow pants rolled off her tongue as she pumped her arms continuously. The waves crashing upon the rocks soon enough came into view. It felt strange and foreign, but finally, she smiled.

* * *

"Turn left! Turn left!" Lily reached over Kevin who sat in the passenger seat to point Aly in the right direction. "No, right!" Aly argued, closing in on the intersection. "Left is quicker!" Lily argued, pointing to her left. "I don't care about quicker, I just want to get there the right way" Aly shook her head as she came to a halt at the stop sign. "Left and we get to Selena faster!" Lily wouldn't let this go. "Right and we get there without getting lost" Aly stated calmly. A car slowly turned into their lane causing them to have to wait a few seconds longer. "Left, Aly" Lily glared, "Take left."

Aly slowly turned the wheel towards right, teasing Lily. "Gah!" Lily shouted, finally reaching over towards the wheel and swerving it left. Everyone in the car screamed and grabbed onto anything they could find to stay in their seats. The car's wheels screeched as they turned heavily. Lily fell back into her seat as Aly tried to control the wheel. The car came to a slow stop once Aly got control and everyone let out a sigh of relief. Taylor sat wide eyed, squeezed in between two fluffy pillows, "I might be sick" she winced. "No!" everyone shouted. Aly continued to drive along the street, holding the wheel with a death grip and glaring at Lily through the rear view mirror. "Hey, is that…" Kevin's voice trailed off.

Miley's heart lifted, "ALY! PULL OVER!"

* * *

**I hate technology. Really, it sucks. Both of my computers crashed in the same week so I couldn't get onto FF at all. I'm so sorry this is really late. I couldn't post it! Forgive me? :(**

xxEmilyKearsexx


	19. The Moment I Said It

_The moment I said it,  
The moment I opened my mouth  
Lead in your eyelids,  
Bulldozed the life out of me  
I know what you're thinking,  
But darling you're not thinking straight  
Sadly things just happen we can't explain  
I'm losing you, I'm losing you  
Trust me on this one  
I've got a bad feeling_

His breathing felt … weird. Not right. There was a familiar prickle underneath his armpits and his heartbeat was quickening for reasons still unknown. Why did Aly keep stealing glances at him through the rearview mirror? Was she trying to say something? Maybe he had something on his face… yeah, that was it … because never, never in a million years would he, Oliver Oaken, have feelings for Aly. No. Never. She was like his sister; his loving, amazing, gorgeous, goddess-like sister.

Oh goodness me.

"Turn, turn, turn!" Taylor demanded from the backseat. (**A/N:** If you're a true TS fan ... you'll get that little joke right there) "Calm down Taylor" AJ eyed her, "You're practically sweating."

Miley's eyes widened, "Her fever's probably breaking, someone help her get that sweatshirt off of her." Joe sitting next to Taylor turned to his side, facing her. "Tay, I'm gonna help, ok?" he asked sweetly. She nodded her head slowly, for that was all she could manage. Her body felt as if it were slowly burning to ashes. Joe innocently grabbed the hem of Taylor's sweatshirt and pulled it over her head. He ripped the blankets off of her and gently laid her head in his lap, pushing her hair back with his warm, calloused hands. Lily bit her tongue, she knew Taylor was suffering, but that didn't mean he had to be so sweet to her.

"Is that her?" Demi squinted her eyes and leaned forward, trying to see through the big glass window. Kevin nearly jumped out of his seat, "It is! Aly, pull over."

AJ noticed Aly looking distracted. What was she constantly looking at through the rearview mirror? AJ followed her gaze to see it set on Oliver. What…? AJ involuntarily kicked the back of Aly's chair causing her to focus her attention back on the road. "What was that Kevin?" she shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. His voice finally tuned in, "-over, pull over Al" Kevin pointed to the parking lot reserved for the beach. "Right" she nodded her head, pulling into an empty parking space between a silver SUV and a shiny blue Camry.

Not waiting until the van slowed down, Kevin opened the passenger seat door and hopped out of the car before it even had a chance to stop. He ran down the parking lot towards the sand, disappearing into twilight.

Lily opened her door and stepped out, stretching her legs. "I'm going to Rico's; I think this is something Kevin needs to do alone…" she casually said, "Coming Joe?"

He looked up from Taylor, "I think I need to stay here … she's still sweating" he bowed his head once more, studying her, "and shaking" he added. Lily bit her lip, "Ok, come soon" she said distantly, turning on her heel and walking towards the sand.

* * *

Miley played with one of Nick's loose curls, his head resting in her lap. "Have you noticed…" Miley started, Nick shifted his position so that his head was still resting in her lap but so that he was now looking up at her, "Our lives are never boring" she sighed. "Never" he shook his head. Her face fell slightly, and she looked forward for a moment, wondering if she should ask or not.

"Is it going to be weird? … I mean, is it going to be different now that we don't have our sanctuary?" It was only the two of them in the van now, besides Taylor and Joe who were two rows up. Everyone else had wandered off, attempting to stretch out there legs … or in other words, avoid any awkwardness that was occurring in the car. Joe stroking his ex-girlfriend's hair sweetly? Yes, awkward. Nick arose from his position, sitting up in his seat next to the brunette. "Different?" he asked, bringing his hand to her cheek, caressing it. "Yes, different" Miley nodded. Nick paused, "You mean between us…?" Nick asked cautiously. "We won't have those late nights together … we won't be able to …"

"I love you" Nick cut Miley off. Her lip trembled, "I know … but, that could change."

Nick laughed, "How could that change? I love you. I've said it over a million times. There … one million and one. How can that change?"

Miley paused, "It just can" she stared intensely into his dark orbs. Nick pulled his hand away from her cheek and let it hit the back seat carelessly; however he didn't break eye contact. "Are you doubting me?" he narrowed his eyes accusingly. Miley was quick, "No" she shook her head, "I'm just thinking"

"That's not the best thing to be doing in your case" Nick mumbled, turning in the other direction to look out the window.

Miley's eyes drooped; she slowly turned to look out her window. Propping her elbow up, she rested her head in her hand, "No, it's not" she muttered to her self.

* * *

Taylor felt like she had been thrown into a sauna, and instead of staying in there for a nice half hour, she had been trapped for days. "Why is it so hot?" Taylor whispered. "It's not" Joe laughed quietly, "it's just you." Taylor inhaled a shaky breath, "How the hell did I get sick?" she gripped the bottom of her baby blue cotton t-shirt tightly. Joe noticed, "It's been going around, you'll be fine soon" he promised. He then ran his hand down her long, soft arm and cupped her fist, "Relax, Tay" he mumbled.

She shook her head, "I'm burning" she squeezed her eyes shut tightly. "You're not burning" Joe shook his head, "Yes I am" she argued. He knew what she wanted to do, but he was too far against it. If Lily walked back and saw that Taylor was lying in his lap only wearing shorts and a bra … she'd murder him. Brutally, might he add?

"It's going to pass" he soothed her by stroking her hair again. Taylor let out a groan, "I can't take this anymore … Joe, just leave … I feel like I'm suffocating in a cocoon!" she slowly lifted herself from his lap and gripped the bottom of her shirt, ripping it off before he even had the chance to bolt from the van. Joe simply sat there in his seat speechless, "Shit" he cursed.

* * *

"Oliver?" AJ finally spoke up. The couple had been walking up and down the parking lot for the past fifteen minutes, hand in hand, completely silent. Oliver didn't respond, instead he looked off distantly. "Oliver?" she tried again, this time he responded. "Hmm?" he directed his attention back on her, "What's up?"

AJ bowed her head, a sarcastic smile on her face as she stared at her red flip flops. Oliver furrowed his eyebrows, "What's up with you?" she lifted her head, once the question left her lips. "Nothing … I'm fine" he answered dully.

Once again, a sarcastic smile graced AJ's pink lips. "Oh" she produced a small laugh, not caring if he heard it. "What?" he stared at her, confused.

"Nothing" AJ shook her head, letting go of his hand and walking forward, "Nothing at all…"

* * *

"Selena!" Kevin shouted, his hands cupped around his mouth. He spotted the girl, sitting by the last stretch of sand, where the waves met land. She didn't turn around; oddly enough … a boy was sitting next to her, dipping his toes into the cool water. "Selena!" he shouted her name again, still … she didn't turn. He was about to walk closer to her when he heard something shift behind him. Quickly, he turned around; thinking someone from the van followed him. It wasn't anyone from the car …

The dark haired beauty stood there, on a rock, right outside the small cave all their friends shared. "Kevin?" she whispered, her hair was snarled, her face had tear stains and her lip quivered.

"Selena" he let out a sigh of relief.

"What are you doing here?" she quickly brushed the back of her hand against her cheek, attempting to wipe away any stray tears. There was one. She quickly got rid of it. Kevin approached her slowly and carefully, "I'm here for you" he cautiously offered her his hand to take. She staggered backwards, afraid and climbed off the rock. "I'm fine" she shook her head, not even attempting a fake smile. "You can go now" she flicked her head toward the parking lot, letting him know he could go.

"It's ok Sel, I'm here for you" Kevin shook his head.

Selena's stomach churned, "And I said I was fine. You can go now Kevin."

* * *

"AJ! What's wrong with you?" Oliver called after his girlfriend, quickening his pace and trying to keep up. "Nothing!" she rolled her eyes. Oliver was now getting annoyed; how come girls could never just tell guys what was wrong? Why did they always make them have to try and squeeze it out of them? Hmmm...? Why could it never just be easy? "Obviously something's up. You're doing that whole thing where you laugh or roll your eyes at everything I say…" Oliver pointed out.

"That's called love baby. Google it … I'm sure something along those lines will come up" AJ replied sarcastically.

"AJ" Oliver's voice was low, stern.

"What!?" AJ stopped dead in her tracks, turning on her heel quickly to face Oliver. He continued to stare at her, AJ let out a frustrated sigh, "Ok, ok … you win" she bowed her head. "I-I'm…" she paused, sucking in a deep breath, "I'm _jealous_" the words stung as they rolled off her tongue. "What?" Oliver smiled. "I'm jealous … and wipe that smile off your face!" she snapped at him, he did as he was told. "What could you possibly be jealous of?" Oliver asked, confused beyond belief. AJ looked toward the path, leading to Rico's, "My sister."

* * *

"I don't think this is really necessary Taylor" Joe choked on his words, Taylor threw her t-shirt on the floor of the van and began fanning herself, "Leave then Joe! I'm not suffering just because of some stupid opposite sex problem!" Taylor snapped, she was _not_ comfortable.

"I told Miley though…" Joe's voice was small. "Then find a way to make me cool" Taylor cut him off.

Alright, so this is what Joe knew – Taylor was in front of him half naked, Miley was asleep in the back with Nick blasting his Ipod angrily, Lily was at Rico's and Taylor needed to be cooled down.

Taylor did need his help … could she keep it a secret?

And with that … he grabbed her by the waist and slammed his lips upon hers.

* * *

**Alright. So I'm the writer ... and I don't think I even saw that coming.**

lovelovelove,  
emilykearsexx


	20. Dirty Little Secret

_Let me know that I've done wrong  
When I've known this all along  
I go around a time or two  
Just to waste my time with you_

Tell me all that you've thrown away  
Find out games you don't wanna play  
You are the only one that needs to know

Taylor's body froze as Joe's lips moved against hers. This is how he was supposed to cool her down? _She_was thinking more along the lines of ice cubes… But, something clicked in her mind. She had secretly wanted this to happen. Yes, she had been talking to Chace on the phone a lot lately and she had gotten over Joe a long time ago, but there's one thing you can never get over once you break up with Joe Jonas – the way he kisses.

She pulled away for a moment, the two now staring at each other. Joe sucked in a sharp breath, realizing what he did was terrible beyond belief, but instead of Taylor saying anything, she leaned over and pulled the van door shut. Joe's eyebrows furrowed, confused. Was she mad?

The beauty turned her head to look and him and the next thing he knew, she had pushed him down on the seat and her lips had reconnected with his. Her lips were so soft while her skin felt like silk. He slowly dragged his fingers across her back just to get a feel of the silk while Taylor slipped her arms behind head and pulled on the hairs on the nape of his neck. Hating this, Joe rolled over so that she was now on the bottom… thank god for tinted windows. Where would they be without them? Their bodies entangled together, while their tongues fought a battle for control. Joe broke away from the kiss to lean down and kiss her exposed skin. He started at the bottom of her slightly tan stomach and made his way up to her neck, causing Taylor to shiver.

See -- this was the perfect way to cool her down.

Joe placed open mouth kisses up and down her neck while rubbing the exposed flesh on her stomach with the pad of his thumb. Taylor lifted her head to give him more access. A tap on the window caused the two of them to freeze, Joe's lips on Taylor's neck and Taylor's eyes shut tight. "My shirt Joe …" Taylor quickly whispered. "No time" he shook his head, grabbing the blanket from the floor that she had been using before. He quickly helped her sit up and wrapped the blanket tightly around her body and guided her head back down to his lap. He leaned over to unlock the door and then moved back to his position with Taylor in his lap. He gently stroked Taylor's hair, but this time with a sweet smile, the both of them much more cooled down.

Aly climbed in through the door and took a seat next to Joe, groaning. "What's up Aly?" Joe's voice was a little high, he just got done making out with his ex-girlfriend and still … he wanted to continue, not talk to Aly. He just wanted Taylor's lips on his.

"Lily and I were sitting at Rico's with Demi and I can't tell you how bored we were… no, I can't" she sighed, "I just want to get this show on the road and go back to my house"

Joe didn't listen to Aly, all he did was stare at the top of Taylor's head and play with a lock of her hair while she drew invisible circles on his knee cap dreamily.

Oh Lordy.

* * *

Lily and Demi sat aimlessly around Rico's counter, sipping their smoothies. Demi picked up her drink and looked through the straw, trying to check and see how much she had left. Lily cleared her throat and continued to pick at her nails. Demi set her drink down on the counter and sighed. "So…" she dragged the simple word out. Lily smiled politely, "So…"

"Think Selena and Kevin are working things out?" that was all Demi could think of? Great.

"Uh, yeah" Lily nodded her head, "I mean, its Kevin … he knows how to get through to people."

Demi nodded and began tapping her fingers against the wooden counter, "Uh, so, how are things between you and Selena?" Lily asked out of desperation. She couldn't think of any other reasonable question.

The dark brunette stared at the blond for a moment, then looked back down at her drink, "I'm not really sure at the moment…"

* * *

Miley's eyelids fluttered open as she brought her arms above her head and began to stretch, quickly she pulled them back down to her sides and winced, "Ow!"

Nick looked over, feeling movement next to him and saw Miley wince in pain. She quickly caressed her shoulder, did it pop or something? It sure hurt as hell. "Ah" she winced once again. "Miley" Nick scooted closer to her; he placed his hand on top of her shoulder soothingly, "What's wrong?"

"I think I pulled something" she shrugged her shoulder to try and show it was no big deal but immediately regretted it. She gripped her shoulder tightly, trying to calm the slicing pain. "Hey, you're fine" he smiled sweetly, placing his hand on top of hers which rested on her shoulder, "Just don't make any sudden movements for a while" he insisted.

"Mission impossible" Miley joked.

"Mission impossible" Nick repeated. He guided her head his chest, resting his chin upon her curled locks, "Forgive me?" she whispered.

A small smile spread across his face, "Forgiven"

* * *

"No" Kevin refused, "I'm not leaving you again" he shook his head furiously, "I'm _never_ leaving you again"

"Why not!?" Selena cried, "That's what I want you to do! I want you to leave me!"

Kevin took a couple cautious steps forward, "Why do you want to be alone?" A couple more. "I can protect you." One more. "I can help you." Two more. "I can love you." He stood in front of her, caressing her cheek which was turned away from him. The tears rolled down her cheeks carelessly, she didn't bother to wipe them away. "Because I'll hurt you. I won't be able to protect you or help you all the time, I'm too damaged" Selena whispered.

Kevin inhaled the sharp, salty air. "Will you love me?" he forced her to look at him, both of his hands on each side of her face, wiping the tears away. "Yes … of course" her eyes were pleading, "But, I can't hurt you. I can't let myself do that to you, so please leave."

"Stop pushing me away. I'm not leaving" Kevin stated, "I'm here to stay." His left hand fell from her cheek and slipped down to her waist, "So just let me hold you…"

And with that, Selena's head fell onto his chest.

* * *

"Joe, will you take me to the bathroom?" Taylor whispered. Aly was now in the passenger seat, texting to someone on her cell phone. Nick and Miley were curled up in the back, giggling with each other. Typical. "Sure" he smiled.

Taking her hand in his, the two slipped out of the car. Joe quickly slammed the door shut and the two walked towards Rico's for the bathrooms … hand in hand. It was silent as their feet padded across the pavement; the parking lot was deserted, except for a few seagulls pecking away at some breadcrumbs people must have left earlier that day. Weaving in between cars, they made their way towards the path to Rico's. Joe turned to Taylor, who had her blue cotton t-shirt on again and smiled. "What?" she laughed softly. "Miss Swift, would you care for a piggy back ride?" he offered, bowing politely in front of her. "Well, how could I refuse?" she smiled sheepishly, curtsying. In the blink of an eye, Taylor was on Joe's back and they were making their way to Rico's, laughing the entire way.

So many bushes, so many bushes they had to push their way through. "Poison Ivy! Poison Ivy!" Taylor had screamed, "Where!?" Joe had jumped back, loosing his balance and falling onto the dirty road. However, careful not to squish Taylor, he threw his arm behind him and grabbed her by the waist, swinging her in front of him so he fell on his back and she fell on top of him. Taylor let loose an obnoxious yet charming fit of giggles, "I was kidding…" she let her body fall on top of his and rested her head of long, luxurious curls rest on top of his chest. Joe inhaled the sweet smell of her coco shampoo; it was different from Lily's fruity shampoo. Oh … he had never really thought about Lily till now. Just then, a sweet laugh could be heard down the small dirty road; Rico's Shack.

Lily.

Taylor must have heard it as well because her face dropped, "Lily…" she whispered. Joe nodded his head to indicate that he had heard her also. "This can't happen Joe" she sighed, attempting to get up. He shook his head, tightening his grip on her waist and bringing her back down, "I love her, but … but … it's you" he sighed, not daring to look at Taylor's breathtaking irises. "It's me" she nodded, "Which means you should be with Lily and _not_ me."

"But, I want to be with you" Joe gazed into her eyes, giving in. "And I want to be with you … but this is wrong" she pointed out. "Why can't I have both…?" Joe mumbled. Just then his eyes lit up, "Why can't I have both?" he repeated.

"Joe" Taylor let out a bitter laugh, "You're not honestly proposing what I think you are" she shook her head. "No!" Joe cut her off, shaking his head as well, "Just give me time" he insisted, "to work this out…"

"Work things out?" Taylor arched her eyebrow, "Please… I need to see how this goes … but … I need to be with you at the same time."

Taylor's lips were slightly parted as she stared at him confused, "You want to figure out who you love more, but at the same time be able to kiss both of us as much as you want" Taylor practically read his mind. He smiled widely, "Need, not want, need" Joe whispered into her ear, causing her to shiver involuntarily. "Joe…" he bit her earlobe teasingly, "Joe, I don't feel comfortable with this, not at all" Taylor shook his head as he left butterfly kisses down her neck, "I don't-"

"You don't want me to stop" Joe pointed out.

Taylor's eyes rolled back, "Never."

* * *

**Wrote this all up today. You guys are luck-aaaayyyyy. Your reviews got to me and I couldn't just IGNORE them. That would be so wrong! So I updated just like you all told me too :) Surprised as to where this story is going? Yeah, so am I.**

**lovelovelove,  
emilykearsexx**


	21. Untouchable

_Didn't mean  
Didn't mean to leave you stranded  
Went away cause I didn't want to face the truth  
Reaching out  
Reach for me  
Empty handed  
You don't know if I care  
You're trying to find the proof  
_

Monday.

Shards of glass flew through the air and fell onto the wet glass, "GET OUT!" AJ screamed with all her might, "AJ…"

"GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" AJ's voice broke as she yelled, tears streaming down her face, so Aly obeyed – she left.

--

Lily shook her head slowly, "No … no …"

"Lily, please …" Joe's eyes were pleading, "I let you have your happy ending" he voice was so small, so quiet, "Please, just let me have a shot at mine"

--

"No!" Selena exclaimed, "Daddy, no!"

"I'm sorry Selena, but it's what's best for her" her father apologized as her stared at his falling daughter. Kevin wrapped his arms around Selena's small frame, catching her before she dell, just like he had promised; "But, you can't take her away from me" Selena protested, "I need more time with her … please."

--

"Ugh!" Nick groaned, "So, that's it?" he exclaimed, "We just give up?"

Miley stood in Nick's doorway, leaning against the doorframe with her arms folded across her chest, "Everyone's broken Nick, we can't possibly fix all of them…" she sighed, watching the boy pace back and forth in front of her. He needed to get out of that habit. Really, he did.

"But, we can try!" he tried to find a smile, nothing came. They both stayed serious. "Everything we try, we fail. All it would be is a band-aid for a bullet wound."

The room fell silent. Nick's eyelids closed slowly and scrunched up in pain. Miley sighed and walked over to him, sliding her hand into his, his eyes slowly opened. The two stood hand in hand, facing one another, alone in his room. "Their faces…", Nick whispered, "They all looked so torn."

It felt like someone was continuously poking Miley's heart with a pin, _his_ face looked torn now. Miley let out a sigh, "All it took was for her to play with us a little, say one small thing and then another and then …" Miley paused, inhaled a deep breath and then smiled, "Let's go."

Nick furrowed his eyebrows, "Where? Are-aren't we going to try and fix this?" Nick stuttered. Miley simply smiled, "Of course we are, that's what we do" she then dragged him toward the open door, "Starting with you."

* * *

**2 Days Earlier …**

Bursts of flames it up the starry sky, looking down from a cloud you could see the group of teens sitting on perfectly carved logs around a bonfire, laughing until it hurt. "Joe, don't burn yourself!" Lily exclaimed from her seat next to Taylor.

"Chill Lil, he's fine sunshine" Taylor giggled.

Joe smiled embarrassingly at the two blonds, "It's cool fool" Joe continued, "No need to drool" he smirked. The two burst into laughter as he returned to his seat in between them, wrapping his arms around Lily. Lily let her head fall onto his shoulder. Taylor's smile faltered for a moment, but she quickly caught it; this is what she signed on for.

Demi watched Taylor cautiously; she noticed Taylor had been acting differently the past eight hours. She hadn't been as … Taylory. She knew why though, but she couldn't possibly say why … it would ruin things.

"Taylor, toss me a marshmallow!" Oliver called from his spot on a log across from her. The fire went strong in between them. "Sure thing, hun" she smiled sweetly while grabbing a marshmallow from the plastic bad lying in the sand beside her. AJ scoffed bitterly, "What?" Oliver whispered.

"Nothing" she looked away from him.

"AJ, what?" Oliver sighed. "Is she your third girlfriend?" Oliver's heart sped up. "Stop that AJ! There is nothing going on between Aly and I! What do I have to do to prove that to you!?" Oliver begged.

"Ollie!" Taylor called; he lifted his head to look at his friend, "Heads up!" she tossed the chewy treat and he caught it, it almost slipped from his hands, but he caught it. "Thanks" he waved to her. She just smiled and nodded her head in return.

Oliver returned his gaze to AJ, she bit her lip, "I'll find a way …" Oliver let out a sigh of relief, "That's all I'm asking …"

Demi averted her eyes from Taylor and moved them to Aly; she had overheard AJ and Oliver's quick conversation and wanted to investigate.

Aly had been in an even snappier mood than usual, reasons unknown to everyone. Well, AJ was starting to catch on it seemed. Demi knew why too, but again … she kept to herself. Aly plopped a marshmallow onto her stick, but the sugary treat refused to stick, instead it fell onto the heated, grainy sand. "Ugh" she groaned quietly. Quickly, Aly snatched the now sandy marshmallow up and tossed it over her shoulder.

For a moment she stared at the growing and shrinking fire in amazement. The colors changed from orange to yellow to red. Then the black smoke would wash away the palette and start fresh, with a new brilliant shade of orange and yellow and red. Her eyes drifted from the fire to the couple on the other side of it, the flames blocking her view finally faded and let her clearly see them. Spirals of smoke enclosed around them, setting their vibe as Oliver pushed away a stray piece of AJ's hair behind her ear. AJ blushed shyly and then looked away, careful not to get caught up in his charm; the charm that she would surely be pulled back in with if she wasn't cautious enough.

Demi's eyes narrowed into slits as the vicious smile widened. Quickly she snapped out of her episode, she couldn't do this. Hadn't she changed? Surely she had learned something over this trip. The drama, the lies, the hurt … none of it was worth it in the end.

Or was it?

The rising smile on her face said it all.

"Let's play a game" Demi announced over all the chatter. "A game?" Miley's eyes lit up as she squeezed Nick's hand. "A game" Demi nodded.

"Twister!" Taylor immediately jumped up, suggesting. Joe shook his head, laughing, "Taylor, we don't have the board." Taylor slowly sat back down with a small frown, "It was just a suggestion…"

Demi noticed the sparkle in Joe's eyes as he smiled at Taylor. The way he held Lily's hand like it was something he was supposed to do, not want. How their fingers weren't entwined and how he leaned forward slightly, as did Taylor while Lily stayed back, latching onto Joe's hand like it was the last source of food.

"How about Truth or Dare?" Demi finally suggested. Miley and Selena had been throwing suggestions left and right, but she had been too distracted to listen; too distracted from her thinking.

"Truth or Dare …" Lily considered. Demi fiddled with her fingers impatiently as she sucked on her bottom lip, waiting for the answer.

Miley noticed. She always noticed. She had been watching Demi throughout the bonfire. Not in a stalkerish way, no of course not; just … from time to time.

"Sounds fun" Lily smiled innocently. For a moment, a very, very quick moment, Demi felt bad for her. She was probably never going to be the same after this night. But, the sympathy for the girl quickly vanished when Kevin called first. "Alright, alright …" he narrowed his eyes playfully, looking around the circle, searching for his first victim. "Selena" he exclaimed, even though she sat right beside him. A burst of giggles erupted from the back of her throat, "Truth or dare?" Kevin smiled.

"Truth, baby, truth and nothing but it" she smiled proudly. Kevin was quick, "Do you love me?"

The group all murmured and complained together, the answer could be nothing but obvious.

Selena narrowed her lovely brown eyes, "The question is Mr. Jonas, do you love me?" she asked playfully.

"I asked first" Kevin shook his head defensively, "Well, ladies first" Selena argued. "Well you're not a-"

"Don't even think about saying what you're about to say Jonas" Selena laughed.

"How did you know I was even going to really say it? I could have said-"

"Next!" Demi cut both of them off; their annoying, couple bantering was not permitted here. "I'll-" Joe was about to start when Demi cut him off, "I'll go" she offered. Miley watched her, curious.

"Hmm…" Demi tapped her index finger upon her chin, as if thinking about who she would choose. However, Miley already knew – Demi's gaze had been drifting back to the girl repeatedly. "So hard, so hard" she shook her head.

Then with a grand smile, her gaze landed on Taylor, "Taylor" she smiled, "Truth … or dare?"

Now, when Taylor Allison Swift was given a choice between something easy and something hard, she felt the need to challenge herself. Each friend she made knew that. It was something they learned about her within the first week of their friendship. She never took the easy way out, never.

"Dare" Taylor stated. Usually she would laugh, smile, bounce around, anything … but, not right now … and she didn't know why. There was this glint in Demi's eyes that scared her.

"Dare?" Demi smiled, knowingly. Taylor paused for a moment, usually she was so sure of herself, never second guessing, so then why was she now? It wasn't any different than all the other times she had been given a choice, so instead over thinking it, she nodded her head.

The ten friends sat in silence as Demi stood in front of the fire, smiling, "I dare you to let Joe kiss you"

Silence. An eerie silence that cut through each nerve located in your body. "Um … Demi, I don't think…" Miley started. She knew Demi would take this to a different level, she just knew.

"It's fine" Joe cut her off, he gave Lily a reassuring smile as he lifted himself off the log and positioned himself in front of Taylor, quickly her kissed her cheek, leaving her stunned.

The group let out a sigh of relief in unison. Demi laughed softly, "No, no, no … a _kiss_."

"Demi, we're not doing that" Joe furrowed his eyebrows together, confused as to why she was being … bitter?

"What's the matter?" Demi arched her left eyebrow, "It's not like it's anything you haven't done before…"

Another silence. Honestly, these silences were getting on Miley's last nerve.

"Excuse me?" Taylor breathed out.

Lily sat frozen in her seat. It was funny, Joe didn't once look at Lily to see what she thought, and instead he stood beside Taylor, defending her and himself. "What are you talking about?" Joe's voice lowered, defensive now … almost dangerous. "Oh please" Demi laughed, rolling her eyes, "You've been making googly eyes at each other the whole entire day and besides … the pathway to Rico's, I saw."

"Demi, that's enough, you're-" Selena stepped in.

"You-you saw?" Taylor stuttered, her eyes glassy. "It's true?" Selena stepped back in surprise. Taylor bowed her head in shame, a small tear rolling down her red cheeks. Joe stood there speechless. "Of course it's true" Demi's eyebrows rose, "It's Joe and Taylor. _Joe and Taylor_. The couple that didn't stop being a couple…"

"You said you were going to the bathroom. You're gone twenty-five minutes. I don't say anything. You finally come back to tell me they were closed" Lily's voice was emotionless, dead, "You tell me the bathrooms were closed … but you don't think to tell me that you found my boyfriend cheating on me with some … some … backstabber!?" Lily's voice rose.

"Lily, I'm not a backstabber, I'd never intentionally hurt you! I just-" Taylor tried to explain.

"Shut up" Lily practically whispered, "Just shut up for once Taylor. All you do is talk, sing, dance, smile, laugh, and think the world is yours … well for once, could you just shut up and let some of us be happy!?"

Miley finally stood from her seat on the sidelines. She slowly walked over to the five; past Selena who was standing next to Demi who was watching in amusement, then toward Taylor and Joe who were standing side by side, looking as if they were in excruciating pain. Lily sat on her log, staring up at the two in complete amazement and pain. "I think that's enough for one night" Miley sighed, taking Lily's hand in hers and helping her stand.

"Oh no, there's more" Demi shook her head.

Miley whipped her head around to face Demi, she let go of Lily's hand and walked toward the grinning girl, "There is nothing, _nothing_ more to say."

Demi just smirked, "But, then how would AJ find out that her sister was madly in love with her boyfriend?"

AJ inhaled a sharp breath. "What-how do you … I can't-"

Aly lifted her scared eyes to face her sister.

"I knew it!" AJ screamed. Not even a second to lose, she jumped up from her seat, "I knew it! All along! All the times I poured my heart out to you about him! How I was scared I was losing him! How he seemed distant sometimes! It was all _because of you_"

"Please AJ, please, please, please let me try and-"

"Try and what?" AJ snapped, "Try and let you explain yourself? Fine. Fine, I'll let you try and explain yourself … are you, or are you not in love with Oliver?"

Oliver sat there wide-eyed. Aly had been keeping this in? This whole time?

"I .. ye-yes, but I never tried.." Aly started.

"Never tried to steal him from me?" AJ's chest heaved as tears rolled down her cheeks, smudging her mascara and leaving trails. "I was never going to _try_!"

Miley looked around the circle. Lily stood next to her again, softly crying as Taylor sat on a log, resting her head in her hands, crying noticeably … her body shaking. Joe stared at the fire, his eyes emotionless. Selena's eyes darted back and forth watching Aly and AJ as Demi shook her head with delight. Nick was speaking softly on his phone. It sounded like his mom … yes, it was so silent she could hear Nick's mother on the telephone. Kevin had his eyebrows furrowed watching every little movement made, attempted, thought of ... he wasn't missing a second.

"Were you?" AJ breathed out.

"Mom, I need you" Nick whispered, "I need you to come to the beach and pick me, Joe, Kevin and Selena up." Nick lifted his head and connected his eyes with Miley's. She nodded her head, saying he was right … she wasn't going with them, she was going to stay with Lily tonight. She needed her the most.

"Why do I need you?" Nick continued to whisper into his phone, "There's been an … an accident" he squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed the back of his hand against his eyebrow, "A terribly, horrific accident."

* * *

**Gah. Oh Lord. What- I didn't know that - All these secrets - it's it's ... madness! Oh wait -- that's a different story. Oops.**

lovelovelove,  
**e**mily**k**earse**xx**


	22. Calling All Angels

_I need a sign to let me know you're here  
All of these lines are being crossed over the atmosphere  
I need to know that things are gonna look up  
'Cause I feel us drowning in a sea spilled from a cup  
When there is no place safe and no safe place to put my head  
When you feel the world shake from the words that are __said  
And I'm calling all angels_

"I mean … Taylor and Joe?! What the … what the heck? Who would have guessed it? I mean, it's not like they were _together_ ever. Right? I mean … really!" Lily ranted on. She had been venting for the past 57 minutes. Yes, Miley was watching the clock.

Miley had stopped paying attention. Instead she was reading the latest Teen Vogue, Selena was on the cover and looked adorable. She loved the overlay of necklaces, the pearls looked cute. Even the flower in her hair held a certain-

"I mean, maybe Demi _helped_ me. This could have continued for who knows how long without me knowing…"

This is where she entered.

"No, no what Demi did was wrong" Miley shook her head. "What Demi did was bitchy, yes, but now I know" Lily shrugged her shoulders, "Now I know" her voice was now soft and her eyes were becoming glassy again.

"Lily…" Miley hesitated. Lily turned to look at her, her bottom lip trembling, "Joe's not … Joe wouldn't … and Taylor … she's so… the two of them … I'm sure they didn't mean … " Miley stuttered.

She really couldn't understand. Joe wasn't like this. He was her brother. Her best friend that wouldn't hurt a fly, instead, he would direct it away from the hazardous lamp and maybe bring it out for a bite to eat with its other fly friends. Then there was Taylor … she was just, _Taylor_. Honestly one of the most spontaneous, beautiful, charming, caring, loving, kind …

Oh who was she kidding? To think there was an end to the list.

"Miley?" Lily finally spoke.

The way Lily looked and sounded broke her heart. Just sitting there on the other end of the couch in Miley's living room, looking so vulnerable and hurt, it killed her.

"Yeah?"

Lily forced a smile through her tears, "Shut up."

* * *

The wind caressed her soft cheek before whooshing past her ears. "I'm flying!" she screamed as she swung higher on the swing. "You're swinging…" Kevin rolled his eyes playfully, sitting on the swing beside Selena. "Come on Kev … a month ago you were flying too, what's keeping you on the ground, birdie?" Selena's sweet voice sung.

"He locked himself in his room" Kevin sighed, looking up at the window, located on the second floor. The curtains were closed and the lights were off, they had been for the past 12 hours.

"Who, Joe?"

"Yeah … and for the first time, I really don't know what to do" Kevin sighed, digging his feet into the grass below.

"He's just got a broken wing Kevin, he'll be fine" Selena smiled.

"I'm not talking about swinging!" Kevin finally erupted. Selena stopped pumping, but her swing kept moving back and forth, slowly slowing down.

"I'm talking about my brother, Selena!" Kevin lifted his body off of the swing and marched in front of her swing, "We are not birds! Ok!? We are human beings! We are _all_ human beings and you can't fly! You'll never fly … this isn't some fairytale … this is _reality_. And you wanna know something about reality!? … It sucks!" His face was red and his eyes were glassy.

Selena sat perfectly still on her swing, staring at the soft grass beneath her. Kevin's breathing slowed and he stared at her, "I can fly" she whispered.

Kevin shook his head, "No … you can't. And I know your mom is sick and you're tired and you think by believing in happy endings that it will all be ok. But, look at Joe … he thought he could get a happy ending with two girls … AND NOW LOOK AT HIM!"

She didn't move, or speak, or even breathe for a few moments.

"I'm not tired …" she finally spoke, looking up at the angry boy in front of her. "You are. And I can fly" she attempted to smile, "Or at least I'll keep telling myself that until I jump off a cliff and find myself falling with two broken wings. I can fly" she nodded, "And so can you … but, you're too blind to see it … and so are Joe and everyone else. Everyone's just stuck on the ground right now. Demi glued our feet to earth, but it's ok Kevin. We'll all get out happy endings."

Selena smiled even though it hurt. Even though she didn't believe half the things she was saying. All she could do was smile and nod her head, attempting to believe what she promised.

* * *

"Get your hot dogs! Hot dogs! Get 'em hot!"

"Plain White Tee's playing tonight at the Green! Come get your tickets!"

"Mommy, I want a snow cone!"

"No, honey, not until you've had your dinner…"

"I WANT MY SNOW CONE NOW!"

Oliver walked along the boardwalk, hands stuffed into his jean pockets, head down, ignoring all the voices. He passed The Main Squeeze, the Ice Cream Shoppe, Koffee, the Cinema, a bike shop, even that one restaurant Joe insisted on going to after the concert where Miley and Nick showed up Demi and Jake.

A lot can happen in a short period of time. For example, two girls can fall in love with you and just happen to be sisters.

A low metal fence boarded the boardwalk to his left, separating him from the beach. He stopped and turned to look out at the low sun. It was almost time for it to set and for the moon to rise.

Things were changing, destiny was shifting.

* * *

_Bang, bang, bang!_

"Come on Joe! It's my room too!" Nick continued to bang on the door.

Silence.

"Let me in you ass!" Nick finally resorted to desperation. He just wanted to collapse on his bed. He could really care less about his brother at the moment. He had shut everyone out and had not made a peep for about 12 hours now. "I swear to God, I will break down this-"

The door swung open before he could finish his sentence and out came a disheveled looking Joe. "Oh, I … uh-"Nick stuttered.

Joe was wearing the same clothes he had been the night before. Except now his jeans were wrinkled, his wife beater was stained with tears …? And he smelled like shit.

He didn't say a word to Nick, instead he pushed past him and walked toward the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him.

It was silent for a moment.

"Ass!" Nick muttered under his breath.

* * *

She thought it would give her some clarity. She thought it would help her feel like her old self. All the dirty work, sneers, spying, hurt feelings, pain; did any of it pay off?

Demi sat on the wooden log, staring at the old bonfire. The ash in the center of it slowly blew away as a gust of wind swept through. Still, she stared at the small, shriveled, black wood; almost nothing, almost invisible, almost gone.

What she had done, she had expected a different outcome. She had been waiting to feel surer about herself, less confused. All her life she had been this bitchy, sneaky, girl. She had manipulated her way into getting what she wanted. But, this group of friends … they made her want to do better, laugh, have fun … and that scared her. So she did the one thing she did best, destroyed and demolished.

Tearing them apart meant that she wouldn't change, she wouldn't have to be scared anymore, she'd feel like herself again and not feel like she was trapped in this maze, always searching for the way out.

But, now … she had never felt more lost.

* * *

AJ sat, curled up in a ball on the living room couch. The TV screen illuminated the now slightly dark room. The sun was at the brink of setting, she could spot the last sliver of it from out the window next to the TV. Her knees buckled as the commercial for her and Aly's new CD came up on TV. Quickly she snatched the remote control up from beside her and turned the television off.

Seeing her sister's face right now disgusted her.

"AJ!" her mother called from the kitchen.

Groaning, she answered, "What?"

"Have you seen your sister? She had a dentist appointment today, but I got a call earlier saying she didn't go …"

"No, mother … I haven't seen A- … I haven't seen Al- … I just haven't seen her, ok!?" AJ snapped, throwing a pillow at the TV.

Her mother stared at her blankly, "AJ, what's going on?"

"Nothing! Ok!? I'm fine!"

"Amanda Joy, tell me what's going on" her mother demanded.

AJ groaned loudly, "Leave ... me ... alone!"

--

Aly winced as she heard her sister's voice. She had been hiding in her walk in closet all day. She didn't want to see anyone, especially not her sister.

She hadn't done anything wrong, and yet her sister hated her.

So she had a crush on her sister's boyfriend. Ok, so she was possibly in love … sigh, she was in love with her sister's boyfriend. Or was it ex-boyfriend now?

Everything's a mess. Everything's wrong. Everything's different.

Stupid Montauk, stupid, stupid, Montauk.

If they hadn't of gone there, nothing would have changed.

They would have all probably been at the concert on the Green right now. She and Kevin would be front row, checking out the guitars the band chose. AJ and Oliver would be getting ice cream at the ice cream truck. Taylor would be twirling around and singing along to the lyrics even though she probably didn't know them. Miley would be dancing upon a table and Nick would be begging her to get down because she was causing attention. Joe and Lily would probably be sucking each other's faces and Selena would be standing right near the amps, swinging her hair around and not caring that she was probably killing her chances of good hearing at old age.

Everything would be right. Everything would be fine. Everything would be the same.

* * *

Night time scared her, especially when she was alone. People were usually around her all the time, so she had never understood the definition of loneliness.

She did now.

Taylor sat underneath the big tree in her back yard. Dragonflies and mosquitoes buzzed furiously around her and she tried her best to ignore them. It was a full moon tonight … and she had no one to spend it with. Lily wasn't answering her calls or text messages.

And Joe wasn't answering either.

She was alone.

Call Miley? No, she was with Lily.

Kevin? Nick? Probably comforting Joe.

Aly? AJ? Oliver?

Please, they all had messes to clean up as well.

There was always Selena … but the look she gave her at the bonfire, no, no she didn't want to see the look of disappointment in her eyes again. She'd rather be alone.

But, that was a lie. Being alone scared her. She'd give anything for a friend right about now.

Anything.

* * *

She was waiting for him. He'd climb down that vine any second now.

Yup, any second.

One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi, four Mississippi--

"Nick!" she whispered/hissed. What was she thinking? The window was closed; of course he couldn't hear her.

She quickly bent down and picked up a few small rocks from Mrs. Jonas' garden. One by one, she tossed them at his window. She stopped and smiled when she saw a figure enter the window frame and begin to open it. "Ni-" she began.

"Fuck off, Miley!" a deep, scratchy voice cut her off.

Joe.

Her full lips parted in surprise, "I'm … I'm sorry Jo-"

The window slammed shut.

And then the glass door near the porch opened and out came Nick. "Hi" he greeted her as he jogged to her, slightly out of breath. "H-hi" she stuttered.

He furrowed his eyebrows, "What's wrong?"

She shook her head, "Nothing."

Slowly, the two made their way around the side of the house and into the street, the street lights the only thing keeping the black pavement alive. "Lily's asleep in my bed" Miley sighed.

"Joe locked me out of my room … again" Nick sighed as well.

Miley reached for his hand and he laced their fingers. "Have they done much to it?" she asked, as the two turned the corner. "Not much, just a bunch of bulldozers and dirt …"

It went silent for a moment.

Then Miley sighed, "I miss … everything."

* * *

**I'm baaaccckkkk. Sucks for you, ha. So ... it's summer for me and I'm basically happy as ever. I've been living. You know? For the past week now I've been doing everything I've wanted to do. So now that I've been so selfish, I decided to give back to you guys and give you what youuu wanted. So I'm back :) For good, I think... Lol. PM me if you wanna chat. I'm very chatty lately :)**

P.S. Review please! Only a few more chapters and then this series is done, for good :( So sad.

lovelovelove,  
**e**mily**k**earse**xx**


	23. Acting Out

**Get ready for a whole lot of knocking on doors.**

* * *

_Welcome to a new beginning, it's time to start the show_

**Monday. The day everything changed.  
**  
Oliver knocked on the front door of the Michalka's residence.

No answer.

He knocked a few more times, until finally the door swung open and there stood AJ. The two didn't say a word, they just stood there. She looked as if she were in a daze, while he tried to search for the right words. "AJ, I-"

She shook her head, cutting him off.

Again, there was silence. The two just stood there; only the doorway separating them.

She took a deep breath, "You didn't do anything … and I'm mad at you" she locked eyes with him. Hers were emotionless, almost drained. "I'm mad at you and I don't know why" she stated.

He didn't know what to say, it seemed harder to speak with her lately. They always had to stop and think about what they were going to say next, plan their next conversation so there weren't any awkward stops or pauses.

"I'm sorry" Oliver apologized.

The early morning sun sprinkled it's warming rays down upon them, AJ squinted her eyes for a moment as it blinded her. "Don't be …" she shook her head, "again, you didn't do anything."

There was another awkward pause, something he hated.

"Do you think-"Oliver started then sighed, "Never mind."

"No, what?" AJ shook her head, "What were you going to say?"

Oliver scuffed his converse against the concrete step. "Well …" he paused, "Do you think that maybe the only reason we really got together was … to heal each other?"

AJ stared at him blankly, _to_ _heal one another_, she mentally repeated to herself. "Wow …" she breathed out.

"I know" Oliver shrugged his shoulders.

"No, wow … I used to go out with Joe" AJ laughed.

And soon he was chuckling … and then the two of them were both leaning against the door frame to support their shaking bodies, "Yeah, that's hard to believe" he shook his head and then added, "and I went out with _Demi_…"

Then her laughing stopped.

And his slowly did as well.

"Too soon?"

"You never were good with timing…"

* * *

She could hear their laughter from upstairs, how she wished she could be along side them laughing and smiling. Why was AJ giving into him so easily and shunning her?

Earlier, at 5 AM, Aly had made her way downstairs, planning on grabbing an apple and some peanut butter for breakfast and rushing back up to her room, but AJ was still sitting on the living room couch, with the TV on. AJ turned her head and stared at her older sister, "H-hi" Aly stuttered, attempting a smile.

AJ glared slightly, startling her sister slightly. "I um, I was just about to get some breakfast …" she paused, "Want something?"

The younger sister stayed silent and continued to glare. "AJ, please, I don't want this to continue-"

AJ turned away and stared at the TV, which was now playing an episode of "The Hills."

Aly knew her sister was just doing that to piss her off because she knew for a fact that AJ despised "The Hills." She had told her once that every time she watched it, she lost a few hundred brain cells.

"Stop it, AJ, please" Aly pleaded.

"Leave me alone."

"I left you alone all night and all yesterday, now it's time to solve this. Stop acting like a baby and let's resolve this!"

AJ's eyes widened as Aly left the kitchen and entered the living room, "You think I'm acting like a baby?" she whispered.

"Yes I do, a-actually, no …" Aly paused, "A baby would scream and cry, but you're not even doing that, you're sitting here like an unemotional _doll!_" Aly pointed out.

"You want me to scream and cry?" AJ asked.

"It would be better then talking to … _this_" she motioned to AJ's slumped body.

"Fine" AJ growled, "I'll let you have it …" she paused, "I hate you"

Aly sucked in a deep breath.

"I hate you so much right now. I know to you, this fight may seem childish and pointless, but to me, it's everything. He was my world for a good amount of time and then it's like … you just invaded my sanctuary and claimed it. Why? Why the hell would you do that? Huh? Do you always have to take what's mine?" she asked, a few tears streaming down her face.

Aly opened her mouth to say something, but AJ stopped her, "No, no Aly, the spotlight is on me right now; for once … can you handle that? Being put second for once?"

Aly's bottom lip trembled as she nodded her head.

"I'm so _sick_ of everything being about you. I found Oliver and thought, finally something that's mine, and then here's a _shocker_, you come in and steal him, of course you do, it's like this repetitive story that I can't out run! Do you enjoy making me feel unimportant?" she paused once again, "Well do you!?"

Tears streamed down Aly's face, falling over her lips and rolling down her chin, landing on her Nirvana band t-shirt. "I-I don't want you to feel unimportant" she shook her head, "And I don't want to steal anything or anyone from you …"

AJ's ribcage rattled as she sucked in a shaky breath and coughed because of the tears she was choking on, "It sure seems like it … and I'm tired of it. Just stop, just stop, please, please just stop."

They hadn't talked since then. It was now 8 AM and Aly was back in her room, planning to wallow the day away.

* * *

They had fallen asleep in a bulldozer.

Yes, a bulldozer.

"I think I have arthritis in my back now" Miley rubbed the back of her shoulders as she winced in pain.

"You don't have arthritis, you're too young" Nick rolled his eyes.

"No really, I think I do, hey, are those trees walking towards us Nick? Oh my god, I'm delusional. Maybe my arthritis is causing this! Take me to the emergency room Nick! Before it's too late and I think the clouds are falling too!" Miley panicked as the two stood in front of the parked bulldozer.

Nick squinted his eyes, "Those aren't trees Mi, they're … they're … oh shit" his eyes widened.

"What?"

"Run … we stayed too late, we need to get out of here!" he exclaimed, grabbing her hand off her shoulder and pulling her toward the opposite direction of the "walking trees."

The two ran, hand in hand, towards the woods. "What- who are they?"

"Construction workers" he panted as they picked up their pace, "And it looked like some angry business men…"

Miley's eyes widened, "But, they'd understand … I mean, we're us" she said in between short breaths.

"In the construction world, there is no such thing as children's pop music … only machinery and jail for people who trespass"

"Stupid construction world" Miley muttered.

"Damnet, I think I have arthritis in my knees" Nick cursed.

"I told you it's possible!"

* * *

"Morning, Daddy" Selena smiled as she walked into her family's kitchen. "Morning, sweetheart" he smiled wearily. "What's wrong?" she asked, curiously, as she opened one of the wooden cabinets and grabbed a bowl for her cereal. "Nothing, just uh, getting ready for your mother's move" her father sighed.

Selena furrowed her eyebrows as she turned around from the counter and stared at her father, "What are you talking about? What move?"

"Selena, I think you better sit down…"

There was a knock on the back door, "No, I'll sit down after you tell me, now what are you talking about?" she asked quickly. Two more knocks.

"I better get that" her father sighed.

"No!" Selena snapped, "You sit down and tell me what is going on!"

The back door opened and Kevin walked in, "Oh" he slightly jumped, "I figured you were out Mr. Gomez and Selena was still asleep so I came right in, I hope I didn't-"

"Daddy, stop stalling …"

Kevin stopped mid-sentence.

"It's alright Kevin, Selena and I are just talking."

"Should I come back later?" he asked, nervously. Selena looked angry, maybe she was getting punished for staying out too late last night. They had talked for hours, about Joe and everyone else. About what Kevin should do and how they should never fight again, even though it kind of was only a one-sided fight since he was just screaming and Selena sat there, taking it all in. She didn't get back home until around 1 AM.

"No, you should probably sit down as well, I guess you should hear this too" Selena's dad stated.

Selena finally gave in and sat down beside Kevin. The three of them were silent, all sitting around the kitchen table.

"You're mom's going to a recovery center…" he started.

Selena nodded her head, "Because she's getting better."

He paused, "Not exactly. Your mom is going to a recovery center to get stronger … and to have people watching her at all times in case…" he couldn't finish the sentence.

Selena snapped, "In case what? In case she does what, Dad?"

"She's not thinking too positively right now Sel, she-she needs help, and we can't give her the help she needs."

Selena's heart sped up, "What are you talking about? She's fine here! I'll take care of her, I promise! I'll watch her all the time. I can go to set early in the morning and then watch her for the rest of the day and night!"

Her father shook his head as a tear slid down his red cheeks.

"Daddy, no, daddy I can do this! I promise! I won't let you down!" Selena was smiling through her tears.

Kevin watched her as she broke.

"I'm sorry Selena, but it's what's best for her" her father apologized as he stared at his falling daughter. Kevin wrapped his arms around Selena's small frame, catching her before she fell, just like he had promised; "But, you can't take her away from me" Selena protested, "I need more time with her … please."

* * *

Knock three times and wait.

No one answers.

Knock another threes times, stand there, fiddle with your fingers, look through the side window and wait.

No one comes.

Knock obnoxiously ten times and let your foot shake uncontrollably while biting on your thumb's finger nail.

The door slowly opened, revealing Jackson with only boxers and a gray wife beater on, "Is Lily here?" Joe stormed into the house before Jackson could even get the door fully open.

"Good morning to you too."

"Is she here?" Joe asked again, his two hands shaking with nerves.

Jackson yawned, "She's upstairs in Miley's room, asleep. Man, what are you doing here at …" Jackson looked at the clock over by the stove, "8:27 in the morning?"

"I need to see her, you sure she's not up yet?" Joe asked hurriedly.

"I'm sure" Jackson stretched his arms over his head, "The crying hasn't started yet. I swear to god, whatever she's upset over … she needs to keep it down for the rest of us, it's been constant sobbing for a little over a day now."

Screw you Jackson, _screw you_.

"Well, I need to see her. Is Miley maybe here?" He asked, nervously.

"No … she went for her early morning jog like she's been doing for the past two years" Jackson rolled his eyes as he threw his body over the back of the couch and landed on the soft cushions, "You can wait for her if you want…"

But, Joe was already running up the stairs to Miley's room.

Once he got to the door with thousands of pictures, he stopped. There, he saw a picture of him and Lily at the annual carnival last year. She had her hair in two cute pigtails and was wearing one of his favorite shirts of hers, the light blue baby doll shirt. The two of them were smiling brightly as Lily stuck her tongue out to wipe the ice cream off of Joe's nose which she had just smashed into. Next to it was a quote, Miley was always finding new ones and sticking them on her door, she was obsessed, it said; "If you'll be my star, I'll be your sky. You can hide underneath me and come out at night, when I turn jet blank and you show off your light. I live to let you shine."

Why does the past always seem more fun to live in?

He reached for the knob with a shaky hand and twisted it slowly. A cool breeze caressed his cheeks as he entered the room. The window was open on the other side of the room. Then his gaze turned to the bed, Lily was curled up in a ball, cuddling with a pillow. Three empty tissue boxes lay on the floor and a half eaten ice cream tub sat next to the bed on the side table. He sighed as he made his way over toward the bed; he took his seat at the foot of the bed, far away from her. "Lily?" he whispered.

She stirred in her sleep, but didn't wake up.

"Lil…" he tried once more.

Again, she didn't awake; instead she lifted her hand, scratched the side of her face and then snuggled deeper into the pillow. "Lily" he finally said with a louder volume. Slowly her eyes fluttered open and his breath caught in his throat. She rubbed her eyes lazily and turned to look at the clock, "Mi, you know I like to sleep in to at least 10" she whispered with her groggy voice.

"It's Joe."

She shot out of bed, stumbling to her feet. "What are you doing here?" she exclaimed, then brought her hand to her head, "Whoa, got up way too fast" she whispered, closing her eyes from the dizziness. Slowly, she sat back down on the bed.

"I-I need to talk to you."

"Goodbye Joe" she sighed as she once again got under the covers and rested her head on the pillow.

"Please, Lily, I just need to know what's going on. Where your head's at and what's going to happen" Joe begged.

"What's going to happen is you are going to walk out that door and never talk to me again, ok?" she growled as she quickly clamped her eyes shut.

"I can't do that, not until we talk…" he sighed.

Lily breathed out angrily, "You have done nothing but hurt me, so instead of making it worse, can you just leave and let me have some peace for a little longer?"

"But, Lily … we're going on tour on Wednesday … and you're coming with us and we can't just … not talk" Joe explained.

"I'm not going on the tour anymore."

"What?" Joe exclaimed, "Why?"

Lily opened her eyes angrily and glared at him, "Do you really have to ask?"

Joe bit his tongue and sighed, "Sorry."

"Please" she sighed, "Just go."

"I don't think you'll ever be able to forgive me" Joe stated.

"I don't think so either…" Lily shook her head.

"But, I'm going to try and earn your friendship back anyways. Because I still love you and I don't want you to cry … I don't want you to hurt anymore, I just want you to feel like this will never happen again, because it won't … I won't let it happen."

"I don't think I can love you again" Lily closed her eyes.

"I know. And it's gonna be hard, being near one another for a while … but we can get through this … right? We have to."

Lily shook her head slowly, "No … no …"

"Lily, please …" Joe's eyes were pleading.

"I think it would be easier if I let you go. If you went back with Taylor" she paused and took in a shaky, deep breath, "I'll forgive you and her, just I can't watch you. I just can't" a small tear slid down her white cheeks.

"Lil…"

"I'm letting you have your happy ending" he voice was so small, so quiet, "Please, just let me have a shot at mine."

Joe was speechless, to lose Lily … it was just … he couldn't even imagine what his life would be like without her.

"I'm not losing you" he shook his head, stubbornly.

Lily laughed quietly, yet bitterly, "You lost me the night of the bonfire."

* * *

**Sigh. Such ... intenseness? I tried to throw a little bit of lightness and fluffyness in there. Just a little. Please, please review. I think there are only going to be two more chapters and then it's done. We're wrapping up folks :( Gosh, this is so sad. I've been with this story for over a year now. You just get so attached, and all of you guys too! I can always rely on you to be there and read everything. I can't thank you enough, really ... just know that I think you all are absolutely stunning.**

lovelovelove,  
**e**mily**k**earse**xx**


	24. Moth's Wings

_Whose side are you on?  
__What side is this anyways?  
__Put down your sword and crown  
__Come lay with me on the ground_

Time is a bitch. Really, it is. Sometimes it passes quickly, and sometimes it drags on for what seems like forever. At the moment, for Miley, it was dragging on, _boy_ was it dragging on. It was late Tuesday afternoon and nothing had changed. She had tried to patch things up between Taylor and Joe, nope, both refused to cooperate. They had claimed that it was better for everyone if they just took some time off, not just as "lovers" but as friends also. Only a little sidetracked, she then tried to get Selena to help her drag Lily out of her own room. Shocker, Selena was too scared to leave her room as well; she had said something along the lines of, "it being too scary out there, anything could happen, she could be next, just like her mother." Close to losing hope, Miley then tried to get Oliver and Kevin to go to the diner with her early that morning.

Oliver showed, Kevin didn't.

Apparently, Kevin was on his own mission, to make a pick me up basket full of goodies for Selena. You know, the necessities every girl needs to feel happier; _'The Killers'_ new CD, a jar of pickles, a Johnny Depp poster, red nail polish, her new obsession, twizzlers and junior mints, a new beanie since Lily had borrowed her favorite one a month ago and had claimed to have lost it even though it's hanging on the banister of her bed, a few hydrangeas, _'The Even Steven's Movie'_ since she loves Shia Labeouf, and a dozen candy canes since Selena suggests to everyone that it should be Christmas every day of the year.

Ok, so not your typical care package.

Miley had given up hope. No one was making contact with each other. Well, with no one besides Miley. She was the only one anyone would talk to.

How did she get herself into this position, again?

"Sometimes, I wish, everyone had their own personal time machine. That way, whenever you say something wrong or take the wrong turn, bam, you get a redo." Taylor continued to drain herself of all her thoughts.

Taylor and she were sitting on Miley's back porch, overlooking the beach that was overflowing with teenage girls baking in the sun, in hopes of getting skin cancer, COD's (creepy older dudes) checking out the teenage girls, little eight year old boys burying their younger sisters in the sand, mothers reading Us Weekly, and grandparents hiding underneath umbrellas in hope that they can outsmart the sizzling sun. "You know what I mean?" Taylor asked as she continued to chip away at the pearly pink nail polish that covered her toes.

Miley sighed, "There's a reason time machines haven't been created…"

"Because people will take advantage of them, go back in time for every little screw up, end up messing with destiny and destroy other peoples lives, resulting with them living in a parallel universe, one they weren't ever supposed to live in and deal with the guilt of that for the rest of their lives?" Taylor guessed, wrapping her arms around her long legs and pushing them to her chest.

Silence.

"No" Miley furrowed her eyebrows, "Not exactly," she paused, "where do you even come up with these things? Do you plan the questions and answers? Like carry around a little notepad and wait for the perfect moment to ask-" Miley stopped and shook her head, "Because life isn't about second chances" she finally explained.

"It's about working around what you created to get what you want. To learn to be flexible and work with what you got" she continued.

"Tay," Miley sighed, "There are no time machines here, and there aren't any second chances"she paused, "So what's the plan?"

Taylor looked up from her now half painted toes and stared out to the ocean, "My plan?" her voice cracked.

Miley nodded and Taylor turned to look at the only non-broken girl with sad eyes, "My plan is to forgive and forget. Forgive myself for being stupid and forget they all ever, ever existed."

* * *

It was now Tuesday evening, and the sky was alive with streaks of fiery oranges and pale pinks. Oliver took his skateboard and glided down the boardwalk, which was half empty due to the last summer concert going on down at the green. We The Kings, Boys Like Girls, Cobra Starship, Lady GaGa and Flo Rida were all together to celebrate the end of summer with a bang.

The lights at _Koffee_ were still on, which was weird since it was after 8. Oliver decided he wanted to go in; quickly he skated his way over to the coffee shop, stopped swiftly, grabbed his skateboard from beneath him and then entered the shop, causing the bell above the glass door to ring.

The place seemed practically deserted. Only one employee was left, he stood behind the counter, his back turned to Oliver, throwing out all the used coffee filters. A girl, who resembled someone he knew a lot, had her head down, nose deep into a thick novel. She had at least three coffees surrounding her, and an empty plate beside them with a few crumbs coating the dish. He looked over to his left where a couple was practically buried under papers, pamphlets, day planners, and notebooks. A wedding to plan?

"Can I get you anything?"

"Hmm?" Oliver's gaze was now toward the shaggy haired boy behind the counter.

"I _said_," he sounded annoyed, probably because he was on the late shift, "can I get you anything?"

Oliver blushed, yes blushed, for some reason, he felt put in the corner. "Um, ye-yeah, can I get.."

He was cut off by a short gasp, the slamming of a book and then the ring of the bell above the door. She moved quickly, but Oliver caught a quick glimpse of her.

He knew what he saw ... and that's why he left the employee answerless and dashed out the coffee shop.

* * *

Nick walked the street that night, not knowing what was going to happen next. Tomorrow ... well, tomorrow they were going on tour. Everyone was going their separate ways. No, let's rephrase that, shall we? Everyone was going their separate ways, pissed at one another and even more pissed at themselves for getting into this situation.

When you're mind is filled with too many questions and thoughts, why pay attention to where you're going? So Nick wasn't.

He saw trees, benches, and green lawns pass him on his way to nowhere. He just kept walking, his eyes set on the sidewalk in front of him.

That's when she appeared.

"Guess it's a late night for all of us."

He finally tore his eyes away from the sidewalk and looked over at the girl, sitting on a front porch, which was most definitely not hers, rubbing her hands together to keep herself warm.

"Taylor, what are you doing?" he asked, curious. She sighed, finally giving up on the whole warming thing, "I've been here for hours..."

"She hasn't been answering the door?"

"Why should she?" Taylor's voice cracked, "I don't deserve her forgiveness."

Nick slowly walked up Lily's driveway and then down their front pathway to finally make his way to the front porch steps where Taylor was sitting.

Sitting down, Nick wrapped his arms around her, in an attempt to keep her warm. "Everyone deserves forgiveness..." he tried to help. He wasn't really a boy of words.

"I wanna go home. I wanna to pack, I wanna to call Abigail and see when her flight gets in, I wanna clean my room, pack my guitar ..." she paused, "But, I _need_ to be here."

They sat there together in silence, Nick's arms wrapped around her, her head resting on his shoulder. The porch light flickered once but then returned to normal. The whistle of the wind calmed their stricken souls, the fresh dew in the air kissed their salty skin and the dark houses surrounding the two, mocked them.

They said, "We occupy peaceful sleepers, all people with lives that are put together. Not screw ups like you, with your drama and tears and selfishness. We take in people who have it together."

"Together..." Taylor whispered.

"Hmm?"

She shook her head, "Nothing, nothing important..."

* * *

**I have nothing to say accept I'm sorry I don't update like I used to. High school .. whoa, baby, it is just a wave of "whoa". It hits you hard. So much work, I'm doing field hockey, clubs, piano lessons, and we all have our favorite night TV shows that we just can't miss :) Glee, Grey's Anatomy, Gossip Girl, Vampire Diaries .. well that's just a few of mine. Ha. Well, I don't know when my next update will be, but ... I really hope you can wait it out. I'm so sorry, gosh, I'm sorry.**

lovelovelove,  
**e**mily**k**earse**xx**


	25. Possibility

_So tell me when you hear my heart stop  
You're the only one that knows  
Tell me when you hear my silence  
There's a possibility I wouldn't know_

Lily peered through the window, watching as she and he walked down the driveway, her head was down as she silently cried. Of course she had heard Taylor knocking and seen her out on the porch, but … god, it was hard. Why was this so hard? Why couldn't everything just go back to the way it was?

The phone began to ring and Lily barely noticed as she watched Taylor and Nick turn the corner. It was Joe calling, for the 34th time. Yes, she was counting.

"Hey, it's Lily. I'm not here right now, but if you leave your name, number, and message, I might just call you back. Later!"

She could hear Miley laughing in the background of the voicemail, saying she sounded like such a "tool." She was right.

Beep.

"Lil, I know you're there. I know you've been there for all 34 missed calls. Yeah …" he paused and sighed, "I've been counting."

Lily could feel a smile tug at her lips. But, she didn't smile.

"Listen, you won't see me and it's ... killing me," once again he sighed, "I'm sorry Lily. I'm sorry I let you down. I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry that you now have to look at me every day and be reminded of how much pain I caused you. But Lil, you saw it, I saw it, we just aren't the same anymore. I mean we are, but … when we started dating we weren't Lily and Joe anymore. At the beginning we were, but not anymore."

She sucked in a deep breath and slid down the edge of her bed, resting her head against the end of the mattress, she swallowed hard as she stared at the answering machine.

"I can't tell you my secrets and not feel judged, our hands…" his voice quivered, "they don't fit perfectly together, we don't have any inside jokes-"

It was enough for her to grab the phone with her shaky hands, "You told me you loved me!" she exclaimed as tears slid down her tanned yet flushed face.

"Why! Why did you tell me that if you really don't?"

She heard Joe inhale sharply; "Don't say I don't love you. I do and you know that. It's just … we're different now, I still wanna-"

Gripping the portable phone in her hand as tightly as she could, her knuckles turned white as she spat, "If you say you wanna be just friends, I swear to _God_ I'll scream."

She felt the tears come quicker as she realized he was crying too. "Lily, I can't be _just_ friends with you. You are not _just_ my friend. I wanna be your best friend. I want to be the person you call when your mom brings a new date home and you need an escape, when a boy breaks your heart. I want to watch "Benchwarmers" with you religiously, have you come over at midnight in sweats and no make up to yell at me because I hurt my brother's feelings. I need it to be Lily and Joe again."

Lily let out a small sob over the phone causing him to cry even more, "I need us to be the way we were."

He could hear her crying and shaking because of how much fuzz there was in the phone, he couldn't read her and that scared him.

"And Taylor? Where does she fit into all of this?" Lily asked wearily. It upset her that all of which he said actually sounded nice, "Is it going to end up being Lily, Joe and Taylor? Because I can't do that, I don't think I can."

Joe answered quickly, "She's one of your best friends Lil, you have to let her back in. We didn't …"

"I know you didn't _mean_ to hurt me, but in the end, it still hurts."

Her words stung and he didn't know what to say in response except, "I'm sorry."

"I know," she sighed, "I'm sorry it all had to end like this."

Joe laughed, "This isn't the end of anything Lil, it's the beginning of a beautifully renewed friendship."

Lily let out a sigh, one filled with so much stress and anxiety, she almost felt lightheaded because of all the weight falling off her shoulders, "I missed you."

"I missed you too."

* * *

How late was it? He was no longer keeping track. Now he skated down the sidewalk as fast as his legs would let him. "Stop! Wait!" he called after her. Her black hair blew fiercely in the wind. She quickly turned into the Green where Boys Like Girls was playing one of their newer singles, "Love Drunk", quickly she vanished into the massive crowd of people.

Oliver skidded to a stop, quickly placed his skateboard under his arm and ran into the crowd. His sneakers sank into the damp grass and the flashing lights from the stage practically blinded him. He could have sworn he had just seen her leather jacket, wait, and was that just her flowery mini skirt? Gah, her perfume, he could smell "Cleopatra" from miles away.

It was Demi.

"Demi! Demi, wait up!" Oliver yelled over the loud music that was caused everyone's ribcages to rattle and ears to quiver. He saw her turn around for a second, a single second. And in that second he realized why he had liked her so much before; there was her beautiful porcelain skin, cherry red lips, and deep, engulfing chocolate orbs.

He saw this strange look in her eye, regret? But, just as soon as he saw her, she was gone.

"Demi! Please, wait!"

_I used to be love drunk, but now I'm hungover  
Love you forever, but now I'm sober_

* * *

I suck very much. I understand if you don't even wanna **review** or **talk** to me :p Buttttttt, I think you still should :)

xo**e**mily**k**earse


	26. Down

_I shot for the sky__  
__I'm stuck on the ground__  
__So why do I try, I know I'm gonna to fall down__  
__I thought I could fly, so why did I drown?__  
__Never know why it's coming down, down, down.__  
_

"Hey, watch it!" a fan screamed as Oliver accidentally bumped into him while looking through the crowd. "S-sorry" he stuttered, while continuing to scope out the park. He had just seen her, she had been just right there. Where was she? He just … he just needed to see her. He wanted to see if she was fine, or if all of this was tearing her to pieces too.

"Demi!" he continued to shout. He prayed she'd come to him; make this a whole lot easier. That's when he saw the sway of the flower printed skirt and the long, tan legs make its way towards him.

"Please stop following me" she pleaded, once she found her spot in front of him.

He stood there speechless. She looked fine, completely and perfectly fine. He couldn't find the words. No, maybe words weren't the issue; he just couldn't find the right place to start.

"How are you … what were you thinking" he muttered, "How could you, I mean weren't you thinking about," he groaned, trying desperately to find the right place to start, and then he found it, "Why?"

Demi shook her head, her eyes gazing toward the damp grass below her wedges. "I'm just … I'm not even sorry" she laughed slightly.

"What?" Oliver's eyes widened. She was messed up, if he had any hope for her before, it had all just vanished as those words left her lips.

"No" she shook her head, "You don't get it, I'm not even sorry and that scares me. I mean, why don't I feel bad? Why don't I regret screwing you guys up?"

He could never understand her before so how did she expect him to now?

"I guess I was just jealous" she sighed, "And I'm still jealous."

"Of what?" Oliver exclaimed, "There's nothing left to be jealous of!"

Demi rolled her eyes and smiled sarcastically at the boy. "Are you kidding me Oliver? You know that by tomorrow you'll all be hugging each other, whining about how long you all had to go without one another and then you'll all gather around the campfire once again and sing your bullshit songs about friendship and love."

Oliver actually felt a little weight lift off his shoulders because he found some truth within her words. Tomorrow everyone went their separate ways and if he knew his friends at all, they wouldn't let it end like this. Yeah, he fixed things with AJ and she was even starting to speak to her sister again and yeah, ok, maybe Joe and Lily were friends again, but Taylor and Lily hadn't made up, Joe and Taylor were still avoiding one another and Miley and Nick had been cooped up for the past couple days thinking of ways to get the group back together, their ideas never went well. Maybe, things wouldn't work itself out …

Oliver finally snapped back to the conversation at Demi's voice, "Ollie, I just can't be friends with you guys because … it hurts to know you've all been there for one another through it all while I've had …" she paused, "I've had no one." A small tear rolled down Demi's cheek, it quickly blended into her skin and if Oliver hadn't seen it there for that quick second, he wouldn't have even thought she was crying.

"No" Oliver shrugged his shoulders; "I get it."

A drunken group of girls stumbled on by the two, attempting to get through the crowd when one of them turned around quickly, grabbed her head due to the whip lash and then fumbled her way on over.

"Hey!" she screamed, "You're Demi Lovato!"

"Hi" Demi smiled half-heartedly, "You're drunk."

The girl began to crack up, "Don't tell my mom! She thinks I'm sleeping over my friend's house, m-my friend Emma, ooooover there!"

Demi stifled a laugh, "I can see that, I think you should actually go to Emma's house now and maybe lay down?"

Oliver smiled at how the girl was practically hanging off of Demi now. "I will, only if you come with me over there and meet my friends first!" the girl burped in Demi's ear.

Demi shivered at the gross manners the girl was displaying but nodded her head, "If it will get you home" she laughed. Quickly Demi turned to Oliver, "So … I guess this is goodbye?" she half-smiled.

Oliver shrugged his shoulders and smiled as well, "I'm sure we'll see each other every now and then."

He could see the pain in her eyes, "I'll see you around Ollie."

And then she was gone.

* * *

He knocked on the door for the thirteenth time **(anyone catch onto the number? Heh?)** when she finally opened it, beaming? Why the hell was she smiling so much and what-

"QUICK! I'M FEELING THE URGE TO HIT THE PLAY BUTTON!" he heard a very familiar voice scream from upstairs.

He held his breath, "Joe" Taylor smiled.

"Taylor…" Joe answered cautiously.

"Come in!" she insisted.

"Do we…" he paused, "Do we need to talk?"

He was so confused; Miley had said she had seemed so lost and weird. Now she was smiling like an idiot, maybe this is what she meant as for weird.

"Sure" Taylor nodded her head toward the kitchen, as she closed the door, "Be up in a few minutes!" she answered the person upstairs.

He took a seat at the kitchen table and watched as Taylor made her way toward him, quietly she took the seat across from him.

"I didn't think you'd be awake …" Joe started, "I thought you'd either be asleep or be finishing packing, I know it's late, _really_ late and if I'm interrupting something, if you have someone upstairs you need to get back to, I can go" Joe made a move to get up. Taylor put her hand on top of his to stop him, she smiled up at the boy, "It's fine, sit, it's just Lily upstairs."

Joe froze, he had legit just been on the phone with her a few hours ago. She had said she didn't know if she could handle seeing Taylor yet and now?

"She came by a couple hours ago asking to be friends again, not immediate or anything, but we figured we can't live without each other so, why fight it? We're trying it out on Romeo & Juliet, popcorn with a cup of butter and two root beer floats, you know … testing the waters" she laughed softly.

Joe's heart ached, "I can't believe, I mean, Tay, this is great, this is just great" he sighed.

"Yeah, I know" she smiled, "I'm really…" she paused, searching for the word, "happy."

Joe had to keep his voice from quivering, "that's fantastic, I'm really happy for you!"

Taylor watched as the boy she loved shivered a couple times in front of her. She wanted to tell him she loved him and that she wasn't really happy. That she needed him to hold her and tell her he loved her too. She wanted so badly to tell him she couldn't breathe at night at the thought of actually losing him, for good. But, she was scared. Scared he wouldn't say those things back and scared that he'd never talk to her again.

"I-" she began.

"So we're good?" Joe cut in, "Everything's ok?" his bottom lip quivered as his eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah" Taylor's voice strained, "We're good" she smiled sadly.

"Great" Joe nodded, "great" he repeated.

"So…" the two stood up together and Taylor began to walk him to the door.

"So, I'll see you around" Taylor finished for him.

"Yeah" Joe agreed as much as it killed him, "Maybe you could come and see us perform soon or something?"

Taylor smiled sullenly, "I'd like that."

Joe turned to leave as Taylor held the door open for him, "See yeah Tay…"

She watched as he slowly walked down her long driveway to his car when something broke inside her.

Her heart.

It had been hanging by a string for the longest time now and finally the string snapped. It was now broken in two and it was hitting her like a tsunami. The salty, lonely tears rolled down her cheeks like a stream and she could no longer take it.

"Joe, please, wait!"


	27. Good Days

**READ: If you wanna get the full effect of this chapter, listen to "Good Days" by Joe Purdy while reading :) Enjoy!**

_Oh yeah and later on we took a southbound train__  
__Yeah and it was cold out, yeah it was freezing down rain__  
__Yeah and it'll let up if we all screamed for the change__  
__Yeah but you just stood there and you started to shake__  
__Then you said, sometimes I wish the sun didn't come out at all__  
__Yeah you said, sometimes I wish the sun didn't come out at all__  
__No, no just the good days__  
__No, no just the good days__  
__Yeah, yeah just the good days__  
__Yeah, yeah, yeah just the good days_

_Click Clack Click Clack_

No response.

"Ugh!" she groaned, then picked up a few more rocks and continued to throw them directly at the window.

_Click Clack Click Clack_

It was 4 AM, yup, 4 AM, and in 5 hours the four of them would be leaving for tour; to travel the states the entire summer, probably not seeing to see everyone together for a while, a long while.

"What!" the window flew open, revealing a sleepy and slightly pissed off Joe, "What could you possibly want Miley!"

"How'd you know it was me?" she asked, looking up at the dark figure.

"Who the hell else throws rocks at our windows this early in the morning? Not even the paparazzi do that cause they're home … SLEEPING!" Joe exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air, almost losing his balance, he wobbled in place.

"Sorry Joe" she giggled, "Is uh …"

"I'll get him" he sighed, rubbing his eyes. Joe went to turn around when Nick bumped into him, ignored Joe's grunt of anger, and then climbed out the window with his backpack on his shoulder. Miley smiled to herself, of course he knew.

Nick climbed down the rope vine and landed on the ground with a thud. Quickly, he made his way over to Miley, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her in for a good morning kiss. "Today's the day" he smiled. "Mhmm" Miley nodded her head, half-smiling.

Nick turned to the window, "If Mom and Dad come in tell them I-" he started.

"I know the drill" Joe waved him off from the window.

Smiling, Nick waved back at him and then shouted, "Night Taylor!"

Joe glared at him, brought his cell phone to his ear and then quickly muttered into it, "She says good night" he mumbled, glaring at him.

Laughing, the two snuck out of the backyard, hand in hand.

"So Taylor …" Miley started.

"The longest story you'll ever hear" Nick rolled his eyes.

"We've got a long walk" she smiled.

"Hmm…" Nick arched his eyebrow, "And where would we be walking to?"

"You'll see" Miley smiled brightly, "Now, tell me the story."

_"Joe, please, wait!"_

_Sucking in a deep breath, Joe slowly turned on the heel of his foot to face the girl he couldn't get enough of. "What's up?" he attempted a smile, trying at all costs to fake normalcy._

_The front porch lights were on and besides the moon and the stars, were the only thing lighting the pathway. "I-I…" she stuttered._

_Joe furrowed his eyebrows, "You ok?" he asked, worried._

_Slowly, the tears continued to flow, "No" she shook her head. With her voice cracking, she whispered, "I miss you" she shrugged her shoulders._

_Joe's worried face slowly turned into a smile, reaching out to hug her, he laughed lightly as he replied, "I miss you too"_

_Hugging him, Taylor dug her nose into the crook of his neck and sniffled. Joe held her in his arms in the middle of the driveway, trying to figure out why his heart ached so much. Why did he love this girl so much? What made her so special, so out of the ordinary?_

_Taylor lifted her head and then rested her forehead upon his. With her eyes closed she breathed out softly, and Joe realized, it was all her flaws and all her imperfections that made her so perfectly broke. She was a beautiful mess, as you say, a beauty in the breakdown._

_"I need you to be in my life" she whispered, her eyes still closed, "I can't not have you here" pausing, she inhaled a shaky breath and then opened her eyes, "I love you too much."_

_A spark lit in Joe's eyes when he heard her say those words. Everyone loves to be told they're loved, but when it's coming from the one person, it means the world._

_He must of paused for too long because Taylor quickly pulled back, "I-I'm sorry" she stuttered, shaking her head, "I shouldn't have said anything." As fast as her feet would let her, she turned around and started making her way back to the house. Stunned, Joe stood there, captivated. Finally, it hit him though and he ran after her. He reached out his hand and softly caressed her elbow, whispering in her ear, he put his other hand on her waist, "Don't go" he said. He spun her around and before she could even blink the tears out of her eyes, his lips were upon hers._

_There's nothing like your first kiss, it's magical. Then again, there's nothing like that kiss on your wedding day, when you know you've found the one you'll be spending the rest of your life with. There's nothing like that kiss of sympathy either, when you know they're there for you, forever and always. But, when you kiss the person you love … I mean, kiss them just because … there's nothing, and I repeat, nothing like that feeling._

_Pulling away, Joe said smiling, "I love you too."_

Never had she ever been happier. Can you just try and imagine that feeling? 

_Taylor let out a breathy laugh, "Guess what?"_

_"What?" Joe smiled._

_Placing her hand upon his that rested on her waist, she rubbed the pad of her thumb up and down. "I bet I love you more" she giggled._

_Playfully, Joe let his mouth fall open and shook his head, "No way, impossible."_

_Letting go of Joe and skipping back to the house, Taylor exclaimed in a sing song voice, "Possssible!"_

Miley let the silence hit the air, "Well, that's great, but what about Lily? She was upstairs this entire time?"

Nick rubbed the back of his neck, "Joe went home after and Taylor went back upstairs and just watched the movie with Lily…"

Miley couldn't believe it, "So she just watched the movie with Lil and just acted like nothing happened? She just ignored the fact that she just kissed Lily's recent ex-boyfriend?"

"Let me finish" Nick sighed, "So once the movie _ended_, Taylor and Lily talked, about everything apparently. Lily was furious, absolutely furious, but she didn't leave, she just sat there I guess and thought about things. I figure she realized that Joe wasn't hers anymore and that he wasn't _meant _to be hers, so Lily said that she couldn't really talk to Taylor yet or be friends with her, but when Taylor got back from New York and her scheduled concerts and all that, then they could talk, she said maybe some time apart would let them sort things out and then maybe they could be friends again, maybe."

Miley shook her head, "Even with everything being messed up, it's still…"

"Completely normal?" Nick guessed.

She laughed, "Yeah, completely, is that weird?"

Nick shook his head, "Nope."

They had walked seven blocks and were now at the end of the road, with only 45 minutes to spare before they had to be back in their beds and ready to wake up to "meet each other at the tour bus", as if they hadn't already seen each other.

Nick smiled over at his girlfriend, "Of course" he sighed.

Miley just shrugged her shoulders and grinned, "Where else would we go?"

The frame of a new building's shadows bordered the grassy area they stood upon, "You know it's not gonna be the same inside" Nick pointed out.

Taking his hand, she pulled him forward, walking through the empty doorway. Construction had already started and their old haven was gone.

Shaking her head, she pointed, "there's still a sky roof!" she smiled.

Sure enough there was, and a big one at that. They hadn't started building a roof and the entire top of the building was open. "Would you look at that…" Nick laughed.

"We only have 45 minutes" he added, sadly.

Laying their blanket on the cold, cement ground, Miley looked over at him, "Let's just lay here and stare at the stars."

Nick rolled his eyes, "so cheesy", and then his eyes lit up.

"Yes I have the goods" Miley laughed, "and no, I don't have any cheese puffs."


	28. Teenage Dream

_You and I_

_We'll be young forever_

_You make me feel like I'm living a teenage dream_

_The way you turn me on, I can't sleep_

_Let's runaway and don't ever look back, don't ever look back_

_My heart stops when you look at me_

_Just one touch now baby I believe_

_This is real so take a chance and don't ever look back_

_Don't ever look back_

"Why are your eyes closed!"

"They're not!"

"Don't you dare say-"

"I'm just resting them…"

"There, you said it."

"You said don't fall asleep, nothing about closing my eyes…"

"Closing your eyes leads to getting comfy which leads to falling- you're snuggling into my arm right now…"

"And?"

"You're really not helping you're case."

"Miley… it's 6 in the morning, we've been talking for two hours, let me sleep!"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"I'll let you get the bottom bunk on the bus…"

"What are you still doing awake? Go to sleep already!"

Nick laughed as he pulled Miley closer to him, "You're a very comfortable girlfriend" he commented while trying to stifle a yawn.

"Ah, yes, because being comfortable is the number one thing you look for in a girl…" she joked while snuggling deeper into his arms.

"That and cheesy puffs…"

"Cheesy puffs? If you're still trying to get me to sneak home to grab them, you're going to have to think of a better tactic" Miley shook her head as the two lay there, staring at the stars in their old safe haven.

"Eh, it was worth a shot" Nick grinned cheekily.

The two went silent for a few minutes, letting each other bask in the moment. There was a whole lot of summer left; just most of it would be spent on a bus, in hotels, on stage and in front of big crowds.

No longer would they be able to lay around their houses, lazily watching TV, walk down to the beach whenever they pleased, go on group hikes, or over to the boardwalk to listen to a band or get ice cream.

Two more hours and they'd be on their way out of California, headed towards their first stop.

She really wished she could have said goodbye to all of her friends the right way. This whole 'ignoring each other' thing really didn't sit well with Miley. She was a hugger, someone who patched things up when they went wrong and it killed her that she couldn't do anything.

Yeah, things were slowly getting better and people were fixing things themselves. But, she just felt so out of the loop, like everyone just decided to stop all communication with her and Nick and say, "we can handle everything ourselves, we don't need your help."

That's not how it was supposed to go. She and Nick were the go-to couple for help. Maybe not all the time because they had trouble too… but, ok at least _she_ was the go-to person for help.

Where was everyone?

"Oomph"

Miley's ears perked up at the noise, "did you hear something?"

Nick lazily stretched his arm out to play with Miley's hair, "hear what?" he yawned and closed his eyes.

Whispers, she definitely heard whispers.

"Those noises! Don't you hear them?"

"No, I don't…" Nick sighed.

She could hear Joe whining, for sure. She wasn't going insane, right?

"I swear I just heard Joe…" Miley whispered to herself.

"Miles, I know you miss them, but please don't start making up-" Nick started but was, of course, cut off.

"MY FUCKING LEG!"

The two quickly sat up and looked at each other wide-eyed, "Joe" they said in unison.

"Wow, way to be stealth Joe! They can probably hear us right now!" Lily.

"Lily, shut the hell up! You're just making it worse!" Aly.

"Hey, could someone give me a lift up into the window? I haven't been to the gym lately; I've just been really busy and … thank you Kev… " Oliver.

"No problem, but you might want to work on a better excuse for future references." Kevin.

"Kevin goes to the gym _all_ the time and he's a world-wide known musician! What's your excuse Ollie? Too much time in front of the Xbox?" Selena.

"Guys, can we please get back to TRYING TO GET JOE'S LEG OUT FROM UNDER KEVIN'S VESPA!" AJ.

"Joe… how _did_ this happen?" Taylor.

Silence and then…

"It was a _one_ _time_ thing" everyone said along with Joe, along with a few eye rolls.

By this time, Miley and Nick had made their way over to the window where Oliver was dusting himself off.

"Hey Oliver" Miley smirked at him.

Oliver casually looked up, smiled and then went back to fixing his cargo shorts, "Sup Mi, sup Ni-" his head shot up and he looked at them with wide eyes.

"Fuck guys! They know!" he scoffed.

A distant, "what do you mean they know!" came from outside the window and then Selena was being hoisted up onto the ledge, "Oh…" she spotted the two of them standing next to an awkward looking Oliver.

"What's up guys?" she smiled cutely.

"I don't know Sel, you tell me" Miley narrowed her eyes at the girl.

Selena laughed nervously as she jumped down from the high window and landed wobbly, "It's kind of a funny story actually…"

"Nick loves funny stories, don't ya Nick?" Miley elbowed her boyfriend.

She was mad they were here at her and Nick's special place. She was mad they were all here, together. She was mad it seemed like everything was fine and she had nothing to do with it. She was mad they were making her feel like she wasn't needed.

She was _mad_.

"Well we all couldn't really sleep. Ok well _I_ couldn't really sleep and so then I called Kevin because I knew he'd be awake because you know with his whole recent sleeping problems and everything. Wait no, actually _first_ I texted Lily, thinking she might be awake and _then_ I called Kevin… anyways, after I did that the three of us were talking and then it turned into a _mass_ text and Joe had this great idea to get the four vespa scooters the Jonas' got for Christmas two years ago and go out for a ride cause _we all couldn't sleep_..." you'd think she'd have run out of breath by now… she hadn't.

"Selena!" Miley interrupted, giving her the stink eye to say 'get to the point.'

"Oh, right right right!" Selena giggled, "So while we were riding down the boardwalk, it hit me. _You two_ were probably here! I mean it was a chance coming here because you know of the whole 'for sale' thing and everything, you might not have come. But, I thought that since you were going on tour tomorrow and since I know you have over a bajillion romantic bones in your body that you'd come here so…"

Miley stared at the girl, "So?"

Selena didn't miss a beat, "So here _we_ are! And here _you_ are! Here we are all _together_!"

Miley stared at the girl for a good thirty seconds. This girl had been M.I.A. for a good while now and Miley really did miss her; her happy smiles, her contagious laughter, her random mood swings – which occurred all the time, her innocence that made Miley feel like a five year old again.

She didn't want to cry, who ever really did want to cry? But, the stinging in her eyes told her that she didn't get a damn say in whether she was going to cry or not.

"Thank you Sel" Miley smiled brightly as she engulfed the girl in a bear hug.

Selena's eyes widened as she wrapped her arms around Miley, with the way she had been staring at her the entire time she talked, she thought Miley was going to wring her out to dry when she was done.

Selena rested her head on Miley's shoulder, "No problem Mi."

Shuffling could be heard behind them, "That's it Joe, just jump down… nice and easy, no, no don't dive like you're going into a swimming pool!" Taylor was frantically trying to help Joe down from the window ledge, "There's nothing but concrete down here Joe!"

Miley finally let go of Selena and looked at all the people around her. "How'd this all…" she was at a loss for words, "I mean, hours ago you all hated each other!" she was so happy right now that she couldn't form words.

"You don't always have to fix everything, Mi" she turned her head to find the voice. Lily was smiling at her best friend, "We can handle it too ya know, you don't always have to hold the burden."

"I _like_ the burden!" Miley quickly interjected, "I _love_ the burden! If I could marry the burden and have mini-burden babies with it, I would!"

Laughter echoed throughout the warehouse, "So we'll split the burden then" AJ interrupted.

"Right down the middle?" Aly offered.

"How about you guys can have one fourth of the burden while I get the rest" Miley smiled.

"Sounds reasonable to me!" Joe exclaimed while smacking Miley's back in encouragement.

"He fell from the window ledge, excuse him" Taylor winced while slowly dragging Joe away from the girl.

* * *

Soon enough the group of friends was lying on the floor of the warehouse, once again staring up at the morning sky. They chattered away mindlessly, no longer caring what time it was.

"You guys, what if somewhere out there in space, on some planet that we don't know about, there are people or things doing the same exact thing we're doing right now and the stars they're looking at… are really us, our planet", Aly asked her friends.

The group fell silent, all wondering the same exact thing. And of course, when any serious moment came around, it had to be ruined.

"Why am I the only one that likes Milk Duds?" Taylor asked, curious.

"Because they're disgusting" Selena rolled her eyes.

"They are not! Now, Butterfingers are disgusting…"

Joe's eyes bulged, "Are you kidding me! Butterfingers are delicious! No wonder everyone thinks you're nuts!"

"Joe, I _really_ don't think you should be the one talking" AJ shook her head.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I think you know what I mean!"

"No, I really don't!"

"Oh, wow, shocker!"

"Hey, he just fell off-"

"THE WINDOW LEDGE, we know already!" everyone exclaimed.

Miley watched in amusement as her friends continued to bicker; she smiled in on the scene before her. The sun was going to rise soon, she was surrounded by her best friends and she couldn't have been any happier.

"Looks like you're needed Mi" Nick whispered into her ear.

She smiled in return, "Looks like I'm needed."

* * *

**So this is basically the end besides an epilogue chapter coming up, I had a really good time writing this series and I'm gonna miss these characters so much, but I have some other stories I really wanna work on. The story will all wrap up in the next chapter which will be the last. I really appreciate all you guys who have stuck with me over the past.. 2 YEARS! Can you believe it? This story has stretched on for that long. I started this is 8th grade I think and now I'm a sophomore in high school, it's crazy and I'd just like to thank you all for the reviews and support!**

**love,**

**emkearsexx **


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